Debutant Stefanos Tsitsipas crushed defending champion Alexander Zverev 6-3, 6-2 on Wednesday to book his place in the last four of the ATP Finals with a match to spare.
The Australian Open men's singles final offers a rematch of the dramatic 2021 French Open final, in which Djokovic came back from two sets down to snatch the title and leave Greek Tsitsipas heartbroken.
World number one Novak Djokovic, bidding for a record-equalling sixth title at the event, is in the Tokyo group with Russian Daniil Medvedev, Germany's Alexander Zverev and Argentine first-time Diego Schwartzman.
However, the 33-year-old Spaniard will not know until later on Friday whether his Herculean effort was in vain.
Rafael Nadal's hopes of winning the year-ending ATP Finals for the first time live on after the Spaniard beat defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 on Thursday.
Stefanos Tsitsipas won 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 4-6, 6-3 to book his place in the French Open final on Friday.
Novak Djokovic advanced to a record-extending 10th Australian Open final with an emphatic win over American Tommy Paul.
Tsitsipas pulled out of the Wimbledon warm-up event in Halle, Germany, because of personal reasons
IMAGES from the Australian Open matches played at Melbourne Park in Melbourne on Thursday.
Surprise package Davidovich Fokina, who knocked out top-ranked Novak Djokovic and Indian Wells champion Taylor Fritz in the earlier rounds at Monaco, drew first blood by breaking Tsitsipas to take a 2-1 lead in the opening set.
Tsitsipas, who triumphed at the Monte Carlo Country Club in the last two editions, was never in the mix against Fritz
Sinner is most likely to upset the applecart after the Italian's run to the Canadian Open title this month
No 'triple bagel' but Djokovic thumps Mannarino to reach quarters
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek cruised past Veronika Kudermetova in the semi-final of the Madrid Open to set up a second straight final showdown with world number two Aryna Sabalenka.
Stefanos Tsitsipas believes he has proved a point to his critics ahead of Wimbledon by winning his maiden grasscourt title at the Mallorca Championships
Andy Murray may have been the forgotten man at the US Open but gave the crowd and Stefanos Tsitsipas a match to remember, forcing the third seed to grind out a 2-6, 7-6(7), 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 win on Monday and avoid the opening round shocker.
Swiatek downs Gauff to meet Sabalenka in Italian Open final
Novak Djokovic's outstanding serving, mighty forehand and all-court defence delivered him a ninth straight win over Stefanos Tsitsipas in their Red Group match.
'The bubble makes it really tiring week by week'
Stefanos Tsitsipas confirmed his meteoric rise into the highest echelon of men's tennis by battling back to beat Austrian Dominic Thiem 6-7(6) 6-2 7-6(4) in a compelling title duel at the ATP Finals on Sunday.
IMAGES from Day 4 of the French Open played at Roland Garros on Wednesday
Sparks flew when they met for the first time on the ATP Tour in Miami, with Medvedev confronting the Greek over his on-court conduct.
Images from the men's singles action at the Wimbledon Championships on Saturday.
Nine of the world's top-10 men and nine of the top-10 women have officially entered into the U.S. Open's revamped mixed doubles event, tournament organisers said on Tuesday, with former singles champions Carlos Alcaraz and Emma Raducanu teaming up.
For the second time in three days at the ATP Finals, Rafael Nadal fought off one of the game's rising powers but beating Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas proved in vain as his semi-final hopes vanished on Friday.
Greek fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas labelled Nick Kyrgios a "bully" with "an evil side" to his character after losing a bad-tempered Wimbledon third-round clash on Saturday.
World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz defeated Tsitsipas in the 2021 US Open and in last year's Miami Masters and Barcelona Open.
Holder Stefanos Tsitsipas moved into the Monte Carlo Masters quarter-finals with a 7-5 7-6(1) victory over Laslo Djere
'I think it will be environmentally very beneficial. Life is such a hustle, and you never get the time to spend with your family and connect with them'
Images from Day 8 of the 2024 French Open at Roland Garros on Sunday.
Defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas showed no signs of fatigue following Friday's marathon battle as he eased past German Alexander Zverev 6-4, 6-2 to reach the Monte Carlo Masters final on Saturday.
Holder Stefanos Tsitsipas moved into the Monte Carlo Masters quarter-finals with a 7-5, 7-6(1) victory over Laslo Djere on Thursday while fourth seed Casper Ruud was knocked out in straight sets by Grigor Dimitrov.
The 20-year-old became the youngest semi-finalist at Melbourne Park since American Andy Roddick, also 20, at the 2003 tournament.
Tsitsipas will play 22nd-seeded Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut for a place in the semi-finals.
World number one Novak Djokovic has been "playing by his own rules" and has put his bid for a 21st Grand Slam title at risk by not following Australia's COVID-19 vaccination requirements, world number four Stefanos Tsitsipas said on Thursday.
Tsitsipas regained his composure to save a set point in the 10th game before sealing the victory in the tiebreak for his third career title.
Stefanos Tsitsipas credited his stellar comeback win against Rafa Nadal in Wednesday's Australian Open quarter-final to his peace of mind, saying he had attained a state of "nirvana" during the match despite falling back by two sets.
'I guess I just put too much pressure on myself, aiming so high and I just have to take it step by step, not think too much about the future and be irrational'
'My arm has been -- I have had an issue there for quite a while now. It has gotten bigger in the last couple of weeks, so I'm just trying to protect it.'
