Novak Djokovic vs Tommy Paul: Serbian player has something to prove as he gets ready for Australian Open semifinal

• Novak Djokovic vs Tommy Paul semifinal match at the Australian Open is scheduled on Friday.
• Unseeded Paul is participating in his first Grand Slam semifinal.
• Karen Khachanov takes on Stefanos Tsitsipas at Rod Laver Arena.

As Novak Djokovic vs Tommy Paul semifinal clah at the Australian Open draws nearer, the Serbian will be hoping to let his tennis do the talking and deflect attention away from his father.

After Djokovic defeated Russia’s Andrey Rublev on Wednesday, the Serb’s father Srdjan was captured on camera standing with Russian flags at Melbourne Park, including one with Vladimir Putin’s face on it.

At the competition, which forbids the display of Russian flags, a man standing next to Djokovic Sr. was also observed donning a T-shirt bearing the “Z” emblem for Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

Returning to the tennis court, Djokovic, 35, acknowledges that his deportation last year as a result of his position on Covid vaccinations has fueled him.

He has reportedly been irritated by claims that he inflated the severity of a hamstring injury this week.

Before his match against the unseeded American Paul, Djokovic, who is aiming to match Rafael Nadal’s 22 Grand Slam titles, said, “I don’t think that I lack determination.”

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“But you could say that there is something extra this year,” he told reporters.

“You could say because — as you mentioned, the injury, what happened last year — I just wanted to really do well.”

Anything less than a convincing victory over Paul will come as a great shock because Djokovic is the heavy favorite to win a record-extending 10th Australian Open.

Paul, who is rated 35th, is participating in his first Grand Slam semifinal.

The tournament’s organizers will be watching for a recurrence of the scenes from Wednesday when Russian fans gathered and yelled pro-Russia and pro-Putin slogans after Rublev’s defeat.

At Rod Laver Arena, 18th-seeded Russian Karen Khachanov takes on Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Tsitsipas, the third-seeded player, is looking to make it to the final on Sunday after losing three of his previous four matches in Melbourne.

The 24-year-old also aspires to achieve a first Grand Slam victory.

Khachanov, on the other hand, is a competitor who has advanced to consecutive major semifinals after making it this far at the US Open the year before.

The 26-year-old has essentially remained anonymous up to this point.

“I think the first semi-finals which I did in the US Open, that gave me an extra boost and extra confidence to show where I really am and what I can do when I’m at my best,” Khachanov said.

“And how can I be more consistent with that form?

“So I think all those things together, they push me to where I am right now.”

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