After being denied thrice in his career at the Rod Laver Arena - by Rafael Nadal (2019) and Daniil Medvedev (2021-22) - Stefanos Tsitsipas finally cracked the code this time to make this first ever final at what he calls his 'home Slam'. But in a bid to walk home, to Greece, with the biggest prize of his career, Tsitsipas would have to take down the toughest barrier at the Australian Open, Novak Djokovic. Not only is the Serb a nine-time champion at the Melbourne Park, the two most telling stats that perfectly sums up his dominance in Australian Open is his 9-0 record in the final and his 27-0 record in this Slam since 2019. Not to forget, this is a man on a mission, eager to provide the fitting reply to the drama that unfolded last January and to level Nadal in etching his name in history.

Ahead of the blockbuster Australian Open final between nine-time champion Novak Djokovic and Stefanos Tsitsipas at the Melbourne Park, we take a look at the head-to-head record, key stats and records in line for the match...

HEAD-TO-HEAD TIE:

Sunday's tie will be their 13th ATP meeting between the two with Djokovic being the overwhelming favourite in the head-to-head record. Although it was Tsitsipas who had stunned the Serb in their very first meeting back in 2018 Canadian Open, and then again in the Shanghai Masters in the following year, Djokovic silenced the Greek winning all the next nine matches, including two at the Grand Slam level, both of which were at the Roland Garros.

Seven of these 12 meetings have been on hard court and Djokovic leads 5-2. However, Tsitsipas has won two of their three meetings on outdoor hardcourt.

This will also be their second meeting in a major final. Tsitsipas has gone down from a two-set lead in the 2021 French Open final to lose 6-7(6), 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4.

BATTLE FOR NO.1 RANKING:

Three players - Casper Ruud, Djokovic, Tsitsipas - had set out to topple injured Carlos Alcaraz from the world no.1 spot in the ATP rankings. It is now down to the final two and with them reaching the summit clash, Alcaraz's 20-week run ends on Monday as the winner of the Australian Open trophy will emerge as the new world no.1. The loser will be third in the world.

If Djokovic wins, he will ascend to the top spot in ATP rankings for the first time since June 6. He has already spent a record 373 weeks as World No. 1 across his career. For Tsitsipas, it will be first such feat in his career.

KEY STATS:

On reaching his 33rd Grand Slam final, already a record in itself in the Open Era in men's singles tennis, Djokovic became the fourth oldest male player in the Open Era to reach the final at the Australian Open, younger only than Ken Rosewall (1972 and 1971), Mal Anderson (1972) and Roger Federer (2018). The 35-year-old presently has a 21-11 record in Grand Slam finals.

The win against Tommy Paul in the semis also took Djokovic past Andre Agassi's long-standing tally of 26 wins as he now holds the record of longest men's singles main draw winning streak at the Australian Open in the Open Era. Djokovic hasn't lost a match at the Australian Open since 2019 and owns a 9-0 record in the final at the Melbourne Park.

This will be Tsitsipas' second appearance in a Grand Slam final and he became only the youngest male player to reach the final at the Australian Open since Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray who faced each other in 2011.

RECORDS IN LINE:

Djokovic will be aiming for not one but two of Nadal's most glorious feats in Open Era tennis. With the elusive trophy on Sunday night, Djokovic will level The Spaniard's record tally of 22 Grand Slam titles, the most ever in men's singles tennis. He will also become the second player after Nadal to win 10 titles at a single Grand Slam, joining the 36-year-old's tally of 14 French Open hauls.

Lifting his maiden Grand Slam trophy, Tsitsipas will become the first singles player from Greece to achieve this feat. (BBC)

Update news