• Novak Djokovic reaches his 178th career semifinal.
• Serbian moves up to fourth place among men in the Open Era in terms of semis.
• He will now play unseeded American Tommy Paul in Sunday’s final.

Novak Djokovic, a tennis player from Serbia, overtook Rafael Nadal in popularity after making it to the Australian Open quarterfinals on Wednesday.

Djokovic has reportedly advanced to his 178th ATP-level career semifinal, beating Nadal’s previous record of 177 and moving up to the fourth place among men in the Open Era in terms of semis.

178 – Novak Djokovic has reached his 178th ATP-level career semi-final, becoming the fourth male player in the Open Era with the most SFs, surpassing Rafael Nadal. Sky.@atptour @ATPMediaInfo | #AusOpen #AustralianOpen #AustralianOpen2023 pic.twitter.com/Kv6JjxWZL7

— OptaAce (@OptaAce) January 25, 2023

Djokovic defeated fifth-seeded Andrey Rublev of Russia 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 on Rod Laver Arena, and is now just two victories away from capturing his 22nd Grand Slam title. He will now play Tommy Paul in Sunday’s final.

It seems certain that Djokovic will eventually catch up to his fierce rival Rafael Nadal, who now holds the record with 22 major titles.

The 35-year-old had been hampered by a hamstring issue in the early rounds at Melbourne Park, but he was imperious in his fourth-round thrashing of Alex de Minaur and was equally clinical against the outclassed Rublev.

“I honestly couldn’t be happier with my tennis,” Djokovic told an enthusiastic Rod Laver Arena.

“I’ve been playing pretty well from the back of the court, and I love playing in these circumstances and on this court.”

The victory sent the red-hot favorite into his 44th Grand Slam semi-final, closing the gap on Roger Federer’s all-time record of 46.

Even though this tournament has seen multiple surprises in both the men’s and women’s draws, anything other than a rout for Djokovic versus unseeded Paul would constitute a major upset.

Paul won his first major match after defeating fellow American Ben Shelton 7-6 (8/6), 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 to go to the semi-finals.

Former world number one Djokovic, on the other hand, will be a completely different prospect if he wins the Australian Open for a record-extending 10th time.

Paul, ranked 35, and the Serb great have never met before.

“After my match, I spotted him in the locker room. Congratulations, he remarked “said the 25-year-old, adding that they had previously practised together.

“Obviously, he’s at ease here in Australia,” the American added. “It’ll be a tough match, but I’m playing some of my best tennis right now, so it’s a fantastic time.”

Third-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas and 18th-seeded Karen Khachanov of Russia will face off in the other semifinal.

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