Stefanos Tsitsipas has the daunting task of trying to stop Novak Djokovic from claiming a 10th Australian Open triumph in Melbourne.
The Greek ace actually won two of their first three meetings, but has since suffered nine straight defeats against the Serbian superstar.
That head-to-head record is hard to ignore, although Tsitsipas did take it all the way to five sets in their two grand slam encounters, both at the French Open.
On this faster surface, we’re taking 13/5 for him to go down 3-1 in our opening Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Novak Djokovic prediction.
Stefanos Tsitsipas odds
Tsitsipas helped us to land a 9/2 double in our Australian Open predictions on the men’s semi-finals when beating 18th seed Karen Khachanov in four sets.
He was earlier taken all the way to a decider by number 15 Jannick Sinner in the fourth round, as well as brushing aside four unseeded opponents in straight sets.
After falling in the semis three times in the past four years, Tsitsipas will now compete in his first Australian Open final.
“I dreamed as a kid to maybe one day to get to play on this court and compete with the best players in the world,” said the 24-year-old.
Tsitsipas will also become world number one if he wins the title and added: “I like that number.
“I am close and I am happy that this is coming in Australia, a place of significance for me. Let’s do it guys, let’s go.”
In his only other grand slam final, the Greek ace led Djokovic 2-0 at Roland Garros two years ago before ultimately succumbing 6-7 2-6 6-3 6-2 6-4.
Including that contest, four of their last five meetings have featured a tiebreak.
Looking at the Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Novak Djokovic odds, it is 29/10 for the first set to go all the way here.
Novak Djokovic odds
Djokovic will appear in his 33rd grand slam final bidding to equal Rafael Nadal’s record tally of 22 major titles, while he can also overtake Carlos Alcaraz at the top of the rankings table.
His 7-5 6-1 6-2 semi-final victory over American Tommy Paul looked straightforward on the scoreboard, but did feature a first-set wobble.
The 35-year-old lost four games in a row from 5-1 up, but regained his composure in time to take control again and then dominate the rest of the proceedings.
He set a new record of 27 straight match wins and has not lost at Melbourne Park since 2018, winning three consecutive titles before infamously being forced to miss last year’s event.
With any pre-tournament fears of being hampered by a hamstring strain shrugged off, Djokovic has dropped just one set via a second-round tiebreak.
Seeded opponents Grigor Dimitrov, Alex de Minaur, Andrey Rublev and Paul provided little resistance, although Tsitsipas is not expected to prove such a passive foe.
“I respect him a lot, he has improved a lot over the years,” commented Djokovic, who won his first title here way back in 2008.
“I actually think he’s one of the most interesting guys on tour, with his interests off court, his hairstyle. But it’s all business on Sunday. Let the best player win.”
Past evidence suggests this won’t be a comfortable success, especially judged on the last two head-to-head encounters.
Djokovic only prevailed in a third-set tiebreak in the semi-finals of the Paris Masters in November and it was then 6-4 7-6 at the season-ending ATP Finals.
Let’s add 4/5 for this match to last more than 36 games to our Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Novak Djokovic betting tips.
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