Djokovic one win away from historic 22nd

A rampant Novak Djokovic surged into a 10th Australian Open final Friday to close in on a record-equalling 22nd Grand Slam crown, with only Stefanos Tsitsipas now standing in his way.

The Serbian fourth seed overcame an early wobble to romp past unseeded American Tommy Paul 7-5, 6-1, 6-2 on Rod Laver Arena in style.

Another title on Sunday will move him alongside Rafael Nadal with 22 Slam wins and see the 35-year-old return to world number one for the first time since last June.

Greek third seed Tsitsipas, who ground past Russian 18th seed Karen Khachanov 7-6 (7/2), 6-4, 6-7 (6/8), 6-3 in the other semifinal, can also become the top-ranked player should he lift the trophy.

Djokovic played the clash without father Srdjan courtside after he was filmed posing with a man holding a Russian flag featuring Vladimir Putin's face following his son's quarterfinal win on Wednesday.

It sparked a backlash from Ukraine and led to calls for Djokovic's father to be banned from the tournament.

Djokovic said after his match that the incident had been "misinterpreted", that his family was against war and he hoped to have his father back in his box for Sunday's final.

"It has got to me, of course," he said of the controversy swirling around his father.

"You have to find a way just to kind of accept, let it go, just not allow it to consume your day or turn your state of mind into something that you don't want, especially before semifinals or finals of a Grand Slam."

His ruthless win extended Djokovic's unbeaten streak at the Australian Open to 27 matches to claim sole ownership of the Open-era record at Melbourne Park ahead of Andre Agassi.

"I'm really thankful that I have enough gas in my legs to be able to play at this level on one of the biggest tennis courts in the world," added Djokovic, who is now 11-0 for the season and into a 33rd Grand Slam final.

"I know what's expected of me, I've been in this situation so many times in my career. Experience helps also," he added of being in another final.

Djokovic will meet Tsitsipas next after the Greek battled into his first Australian final and only second at a Grand Slam.

In the previous one, at Roland Garros in 2021, he fell to Djokovic in five sets after holding a 2-0 lead.

At 24, Tsitsipas is the youngest man to reach the Melbourne final since a 23-year-old Djokovic in 2011.

"I dreamed as a kid to maybe one day get to play in this court against the best players in the world," said Tsitsipas, who is also unbeaten this season with a 10-0 record.