After losing the second set in Thursday’s Australian Open doubles semi-finals, Hugo Nys and Jan Zielinski drew inspiration from six-time Melbourne champions Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan. The Monegasque/Polish pairing then powered through the deciding set in a 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 win against Frenchmen Jeremy Chardy and Fabrice Martin, advancing to what will be a maiden major final for both men.

“Our energy came a little bit down [in the second set] and I told Jan, the beginning of the third set we have to come back like Bryan/Bryan energy, from the first point,” Nys said in an on-court interview.

“I’m really happy we did it because it actually made the difference. Even though it’s the first semi-final for us, we managed to bring that big energy in the third set. I’m really proud of the team.”

FIRST. GRAND. SLAM. FINAL.

🇲🇨 @HugoNys/@zielaczekk 🇵🇱 hold off Chardy/Martin 6-3 5-7 6-2 for the biggest win of their careers!@wwos • @espn • @eurosport • @wowowtennis • #AusOpen • #AO2023 pic.twitter.com/b7HK2QzdUW

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 26, 2023

The unseeded duo lost serve for the only time in the final game of the second set, but quickly made amends by building a 4-0 lead in the deciding set. They finished the match with 14 aces and an 89 per cent win rate on first serve in Rod Laver Arena.

“It’s really incredible,” Zielinski said of the pair’s run to the title match. “We basically started playing last year in March, just wanted to try it out. The first tournament we played was a Challenger 80, so we came a long way from there. I’m super happy to make it to the final of our first Australian Open together.”

The pair will seek its second tour-level title after winning the Metz trophy last season and reaching the US Open quarter-finals. Their opponents in the final will be Australian wild cards Rinky Hijikata and Jason Kubler, whose chest-bump celebration after match point was also an apparent nod to the Bryan brothers.

The wildcards have sealed the upset 💪 And what a place to do it! 👏

Rod Laver Arena erupts and so do the Australian pairing 💙

Hijikata and Kubler win it 6-4 6-2. They’re off to the final!#AO2023 • #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/BGRvO3bRp0

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 26, 2023

With the backing of the Laver crowd, Hijikata/Kubler upset eighth seeds Horacio Zeballos and Marcel Granollers 6-4, 6-2 as they continued their dream run. It was the second straight match in which they did not drop serve.

The Aussies have knocked off three Top 10 seeds in the tournament, including top seeds Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski in the quarter-finals, as they bid to keep the AO doubles trophy in Australian hands following the 2022 triumph of another pair of wild cards: Thanasi Kokkinakis and Nick Kyrgios.

There are few things new to Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open, where he is now two wins away from a record-extending 10th singles title. But he will experience a first in Friday’s semi-finals when he takes on American Tommy Paul.

The opponents will open their ATP Head2Head series in the Rod Laver Arena evening session, with Djokovic playing his sixth straight match under the lights on Melbourne’s main stage. Paul, who was on the field courts for his first three contests, made his Laver debut on Wednesday in the quarter-finals.

While Paul is unseeded, he was the first man to miss the cutoff as the World No. 35. He is now up to No. 19 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, and Djokovic is expecting an elite-level test.

“I watched him play quite a bit, especially during this tournament. He’s been playing probably the tennis of his life,” said the Serbian. “Very explosive, very dynamic player. Quick, very solid backhand. Likes to step in, dictate the point with the forehand. Great, great service motion. I think he can hit all the spots with the serve. Very complete player.”

While Djokovic feels Paul has nothing to lose as a first-time Grand Slam semi-finalist, the Serbian is playing for history. A title triumph would draw him level with 2022 Melbourne champ Rafael Nadal on a record 22 men’s major singles titles; it would also lift Djokovic back to the top of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings for the first time since last June.

After some uncertainty surrounding his hamstring issue in the early rounds of the tournament, Djokovic has been ruthless in his past two outings, dropping just five games against home favourite Alex de Minaur in the fourth round and seven to fifth seed Andrey Rublev in the quarters.

“The past two matches, playing against two guys that are really good players, in-form players, to beat them dominantly in three sets is definitely something that I want in this moment, something that sends a message to all my opponents remaining in the draw,” Djokovic said.

“With this kind of game, of course the confidence level rises, considering the circumstances. I feel good on the court, better and better as the tournament progresses. I’ve been in this situation so many times in my life, in my career, never lost a semi-final in the Australian Open. Hopefully that will stay the same.”

Indeed, Djokovic has gone on to win the tournament each of the past nine times he has reached the semis. But despite the Serbian’s sterling record Down Under, Paul was hoping for an opportunity to face the undisputed master of Melbourne.

“I’m really excited. It’s really cool,” Paul said of making his first Grand Slam semi-final, before Djokovic defeated Rublev. “I think it’s even cooler if I do play Novak. That’s probably who I want to play. I mean, I probably have a better chance of winning if it’s Rublev, but to play Novak here in Australia would be awesome.”

After a four-set win in an all-American quarter-final against 20-year-old Ben Shelton, Paul continues to fly the flag for U.S. men’s tennis at the tail end of a historic tournament for the nation. With Paul, Shelton and Sebastian Korda all reaching the last eight, it marked the first time since 2000 that three American men have reached that stage in Melbourne — and the first time at any Slam since the 2005 US Open.

Paul is proud to represent the United States, nearly 20 years after Andy Roddick became the last American man to win a major title at the 2003 US Open: “I think we all want it pretty bad for ourselves,” he said, referencing Frances Tiafoe’s semi-final run at the 2022 US Open. “But we want it for U.S. tennis, too.”

The American knocked off two seeded opponents in reaching the semi-finals, both hailing from Spain: 30th seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in five sets (second round) and 24th seed Roberto Bautista Agut in four (fourth round).

Paul holds a 6-12 tour-level record against Top 10 opposition, including a win against Nadal last November at the Rolex Paris Masters. He also earned victories against Carlos Alcaraz (Montreal) and Alexander Zverev (Indian Wells) last season — but facing Djokovic at the Australian Open is a different proposition.

Stefanos Tsitsipas finds himself in the Australian Open semi-finals for the fourth time, with a golden opportunity against Olympic silver medalist Karen Khachanov on Friday. While the Greek has thrived in Melbourne throughout his career, Khachanov had not been beyond the third round Down Under until this year.

With the large Greek population in Melbourne and its similar climate to his native Athens, Tsitsipas has called the Australian Open his “home Slam”. He has been a second-week regular at the event since his breakout run in 2019, but has never been able to reach the title round, falling one match short against Rafael Nadal in ’19 and Daniil Medvedev each of the past two years.

But the 24-year-old’s play this fortnight, during which he has won four of his five matches in straight sets, makes him a hot favourite to rectify that against Khachanov. He’ll be further fuelled by his 5-0 ATP Head2Head record against the 18th seed, their most recent meeting last season in Rome.

Asked if this could be the year for his Grand Slam trophy breakthrough, Tsitsipas’ reply was brimming with confidence — much like his game.

“I’m feeling great with my tennis,” said the World No. 4, who would claim the top spot in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings with the AO title. “I don’t think I felt so good in a long time. I will definitely say yes to it.

“I’m a different player, playing different. My mentality is different. When I’m out on the court, I don’t really think of negatives, to be honest. I just go out there and play the game.”

Khachanov has also spoken of a recent transformation in his game. After reaching the US Open semis last season, the 18th seed has matched his best Grand Slam result in Melbourne.

“I think I kind of reinvented myself,” he said, three-and-a-half years after reaching a career-high Pepperstone ATP Ranking of No. 8 in 2019. “I always believe in myself but there are always ups and downs, and sometimes when you have a great result it just shows you what you are capable of and then you start to believe more and more.

“This belief and self-confidence I think appeared much stronger after the US Open. I made a few semi-finals already so I hope to continue that way and to grow as a person and as a sportsman.”

By reaching the quarter-finals this week, Khachanov became the 10th active male player and the 50th in the Open Era to reach that stage at all four Grand Slams. But the 26-year-old was far from satisfied, taking the initiative against Sebastian Korda on Tuesday before the American retired with Khachanov leading 7-6(5), 6-3, 3-0. Korda was the third seeded player dismissed by Khachanov this week, after his earlier wins against 16th seed Frances Tiafoe and 31st seed Yoshihito Nishioka. 

Tsitsipas faced only one seed on his way to the semis, when he survived a furious comeback from 15th seed Jannik Sinner in a 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3 fourth-round win. He backed that up with a 6-3, 7-6(2), 6-4 triumph against 2022 Next Gen ATP Finals runner-up Jiri Lehecka in a match Tsitsipas said felt much tighter than the scoreline indicated. The Greek saved all eight break points against him, with those chances coming in two games, including a 0/40 escape late in set three to deny Lehecka the opportunity to serve for the set.

After the tension dissipated, Tsitsipas was all smiles in his on-court interview as he continued his new tradition of dropping some Aussie slang into his replies: “I can say it was a fair dinkum type of performance,” he told the Rod Laver Arena crowd, before inviting Australian actress Margot Robbie to his player box for the final rounds.

He’ll be hoping to play another “ripper” in the semis.

“It’s a match that I’m looking forward to,” he later added in press. “It’s great to be back in the semi-finals. Of course, I’m definitely happy with the way I’ve been playing so far. I’m looking ahead for more, for better. Looking to create some magical experiences here in Australia.”

Dismantling high-flying opponents back-to-back in the latter stages of a Grand Slam is no mean feat, even for an ATP Tour great. Yet Novak Djokovic is not getting carried away after backing up his masterful fourth-round Australian Open display against Alex de Minaur by cruising past World No. 6 Andrey Rublev on Wednesday night in Melbourne.

“I can’t really say that this is as confident that I ever felt because I’ve had some incredible seasons,” said Djokovic after racing to a 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 quarter-final win against Rublev. “[Some incredible] years here at the Australian Open, some matches that are really unforgettable for me. [It is] tough to compare because I’ve been fortunate to really live through a lot of success at the Australian Open.

“But [the] last two matches, playing against two guys that are really good players, in-form players, to beat them dominantly in three sets… That is definitely something that I want in this moment. Something that sends a message to all my opponents remaining in the draw.”

Djokovic is 10-0 for 2023 after downing Rublev. Despite being hampered by a left hamstring issue, the 35-year-old has made relatively seamless progress to the last four in Melbourne, where he can tie Rafael Nadal’s record of 22 Grand Slam crowns and return to World No. 1 by lifting the trophy. He now finds himself in a familiar position at the opening major of the season.

“With this kind of game, of course the confidence level rises… I feel good on the court, better and better as the tournament progresses,” said Djokovic. “I’ve been in this situation in so many times in my life, in my career, [and] never lost a semi-final at the Australian Open. Hopefully that will stay the same.

“So far, I have a perfect score on Australian hard courts [this year], in Adelaide and here. I’ve been playing better and better. I couldn’t ask for a better situation to be in at the moment.”

Next up for Djokovic as he chases a record-extending 10th Australian Open title is Tommy Paul, now up to a career-high No. 19 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings. It will be a maiden tour-level meeting between the two, but Djokovic does not expect any surprises when he lines up against the American on Friday on Rod Laver Arena.

“I know how he plays,” said Djokovic of the 25-year-old Paul. “I never faced him on the court, [but] he’s been around for a few years. I watched him play quite a bit, especially during this tournament. He’s been playing probably tennis of his life.

“[He is a] very explosive, very dynamic player. Quick, very solid backhand. Likes to step in, dictate the point with the forehand. Great, great service motion… [A] very complete player. He’s got a coach [Brad Stine] that has been around with some top players for many years.

“[It is a] first [Grand Slam] semi-final for him, so of course he doesn’t have much to lose. I’m sure he’s going to go out trying to play his best tennis.”

Paul’s countrymen Sebastian Korda and Ben Shelton also reached the last eight in Melbourne, marking the first time three American men have reached the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam since 2005. There are set to be 10 Americans in the Top 50 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings on Monday, and the 92-time tour-level titlist Djokovic welcomed the emergence of a strong group of players from a nation that will host 11 tour-level events in 2023.

“Look, [the United States] is an extremely important country for our sport,” said the 92-time tour-level titlist. “We have some of the biggest tournaments in the world played there, in the North American continent. I think it is important that we see successful American men and women doing well.

“Historically, America has always produced top players. Now you have a list of maybe four or five young players that are knocking on the door of the top level. I think that’s great for our sport. We want to see young, successful players that are coming from a big country like [the United States], of course.”