Second seed Daniil Medvedev will launch his bid to win his first major title against veteran Frenchman Richard Gasquet.
Sinner, Alcaraz will keep tennis' flag flying: Shastri
Djokovic announced on Tuesday he received an exemption to play in the Grand Slam tournament in Melbourne and said he was heading to Australia.
Novak Djokovic has suffered more than his fair share of heartache against Rafael Nadal at the French Open but Sunday's final offers him a chance to dethrone the claycourt king.
Djokovic has been even more visible on social media this week as the Tokyo Olympics got under way.
Novak Djokovic blamed "human error" on Wednesday for a mistake in his Australian immigration paperwork and apologised for breaking isolation for a photoshoot when he had COVID-19 last month.
World men's tennis No. 1 Novak Djokovic headed reluctantly home on Monday after being kicked out of Australia because of his COVID-19 unvaccinated status, but the government left the door open for a possible return to his favourite Grand Slam in 2023.
Australian Open chief Craig Tiley is confident Rafael Nadal will be at Melbourne Park for next month's Grand Slam despite testing positive for COVID-19, but he is still uncertain whether Novak Djokovic will be playing.
The Serbian's 1-6, 6-3, 6-1 defeat also ended his dream of winning an Olympic singles gold medal, the only major honour missing from his long list of accolades.
World number one Carlos Alcaraz retired injured against Holger Rune at the Paris Masters on Friday, sending his fellow 19-year-old through to the semi-finals, while Novak Djokovic and Felix Auger-Aliassime also sealed places in the last four.
Djokovic was disqualified while trailing Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta 6-5 in the opening set of their fourth-round tie on Sunday, striking a line judge with a petulant swipe of the ball.
Djokovic practised his serves and returns with his entourage on an empty court at Melbourne Park
The 6-foot-5 frame of Matteo Berrettini will be standing in the way of Novak Djokovic's relentless pursuit of hoarding as many tennis milestones as possible when the two meet in a Wimbledon final where both men will be eyeing the record books.
IMAGES from Day 5 of the Wimbledon Championships at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on Friday.
Novak Djokovic could be barred from playing in the French Open as things stand now after the Sports Ministry said on Monday there would be no exemption from France's new vaccine pass law.
Zheng Qinwen became the first Chinese player to win an Olympic tennis singles gold medal when she held off Croatia's Donna Vekic for a 6-2, 6-3 win in a tense final on Saturday.
Novak Djokovic said he expects a "great battle" against Italian powerhouse Matteo Berrettini in Sunday's Wimbledon final when victory will earn the Serb a record-equalling 20th Grand Slam title.
Some 25,000-30,000 fans will be admitted to Melbourne Park on each day of the Grand Slam and Novak Djokovic got a taste of what was to come when he played an exhibition match in Adelaide after coming out of quarantine on Friday.
Novak Djokovic's loss in the US Open final on Sunday denied him a calendar-year Grand Slam but the Serbian world number one said he was just happy his chase for perfection was finally over.
Rafael Nadal said he feels sorry for Novak Djokovic after the world number one was denied entry into Australia but added that the Serb knew for months he could potentially face problems if he arrived without being vaccinated against COVID-19.
Daniil Medvedev dominated Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-4, 7-5, 6-2 on Friday to reach the US Open final courtesy of a dozen aces in just a little over two hours.
Novak Djokovic, who has won a record nine titles at Melbourne Park including the last three, has repeatedly declined to reveal whether he has been vaccinated against COVID-19, with Australian Open organisers Tennis Australia confirming that all players would have to be vaccinated to compete in Melbourne.
The world number one overcame a sluggish start to defeat Argentine Diego Schwartzman 7-5, 6-3 for a record 36th ATP Masters crown.
Given that Twelve Final Days doesn't really delve into the genesis of Roger Federer, the ups and downs of his career, the assumption is that it is meant for people who are already familiar with his work, observes Deepti Patwardhan.
Alexander Zverev overcame late nerves to beat world number one Novak Djokovic on Saturday and set up a final showdown with Daniil Medvedev at the ATP Finals.
Next up for the 35-year-old will be another American in 39th-ranked Tommy Paul with a potential semi-final clash against top-seeded Russian Daniil Medvedev, who he defeated in the Australian Open final from a two-sets deficit.
Djokovic's father blamed the cancellation of the tour on Dimitrov. There is nothing to suggest that Dimitrov spread the virus to others.
Rafael Nadal said on Saturday "too many questions" still needed to be answered concerning Novak Djokovic's bid to play at the Australian Open, while other leading players lamented how the saga had overshadowed the year's first Grand Slam.
Jannik Sinner's stupendous year may have been clouded by an anti-doping controversy but on the court he is finishing the season like an express train and has won 25 of his last 26 matches.
World number one Novak Djokovic had enough on his plate already on Wednesday without marauding Russian Daniil Medvedev pummelling him to a shock 6-3, 6-3 defeat at the ATP Finals.
Earlier in March, Novak Djokovic and wife Jelena Djokovic had announced that they will donate one million Euros to help the people of Serbia in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
After an Olympic stumble Novak Djokovic will get a second bite at history in the Big Apple with a calendar year Grand Slam there for the taking at the US Open.
Goran Ivanisevic, Djokovic's coach, was greeted with jeers from fans when he broke the news courtside.
Djokovic found a little girl who had held up a sign and ran over to give her a racket, then blew kisses at her.
On Monday, Spain eased the lockdown rules that were in effect since mid-March because of the Coronavirus pandemic. But sports facilities are supposed to remain closed at least until next week in most parts of the country.
Defending champion Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal will clash for the Italian Open title after the top two seeds advanced to the final of the Masters tournament on Saturday.
World number one Novak Djokovic said his win over Rafa Nadal in Friday's epic French Open semi-final was one of the top three matches he had played and he would remember it forever.
The 33-year-old, a record eight-time winner on the Melbourne Park Arena, slipped during the third set of Friday's third-round match against Taylor Fritz and disappeared off Rod Laver Arena for treatment.
Nadal, bidding for a record-extending 14th French Open title, won the first five games of the match as he looked on course to repeat his drubbing of the Serb in last year's final.
