Alexander zverev
Racquet-smashing Djokovic into Australian Open semis
It was a patchy performance from the world number one, who is nursing an abdominal injury and drew deeply on his mental fortitude to win 6-7 (6/8), 6-2, 6-4,...
With the big three getting older, 17-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic said it was good to see the next generation performing well.
The Serbian top seed, who was beaten comprehensively by Daniil Medvedev in his second round-robin match, was again below his best in London but did enough to win 6-3, 7-6 (7/4).
The world number one crushed Argentine eighth seed Diego Schwartzman 6-3, 6-2 in the opening round-robin match in Group Tokyo 1970 before Russia's Medvedev triumphed 6-3, 6-4.
Former junior player Olga Sharypova said in a social media post last month that the German world number seven had tried to "strangle" her while at last year's US Open.
The title is the 27-year-old Thiem's maiden Grand Slam trophy after three previous defeats in finals of tennis majors.
Second seed Thiem ousted third-seeded Russian and last year's runner-up Daniil Medvedev in a closely fought three-setter that was packed with powerful baseline rallies and impressive serving.
Osaka, the tournament's fourth seed, swept aside unseeded Shelby Rogers in straight sets to set up a match with Jennifer Brady for a place in Saturday's final.
Like Djokovic recently, Zverev cited notably the obligatory 14-day quarantine for players arriving in the US, housing in airport hotels near the tournament and not allowing them to be accompanied by more than one member of the team.
The first leg will take place on red clay in Belgrade on 13 and 14 June at Djokovic’s complex and the second in Croatia’s coastal resort Zadar on 20 and 21 June.
The 26-year-old fifth seed, the first player from Austria ever to reach the Melbourne decider, battled past seventh-ranked Zverev 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (7/4) on a sweltering evening.
Alexander Zverev was once considered one of the leading ‘Next Gen’ contenders to break the Grand Slam hegemony of Novak Djokovic, Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer who have shared the last 12 majors between them.
While the Austrian, Germany's Alexander Zverev, Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas and others have had success at lesser tournaments, the big guns continue to dominate the majors.
The Greek tyro, 21, broke his big-serving German opponent three times in the Group Andre Agassi match to seal a 6-3, 6-2 win at London's O2 Arena.
Victory for the 23-year-old Russian, contesting a sixth final in a row, was more evidence that he is the prime contender to join the "Big Three" of Djokovic, Nadal and Federer.
Second seed Nadal - the winner at Flushing Meadows in 2010, 2013 and 2017 - produced some electrifying moments of brilliance to end the challenge of Croatia's Marin Cilic 6-3, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2.
Federer and Nadal have squared off 39 times and Federer and Djokovic 47 while Djokovic and Nadal’s 54-match rivalry is the most prolific and competitive in the history of men’s tennis.
Karolina Pliskova is another form player, winning the warm-up Brisbane International and easing past two-time Grand Slam winner Garbine Muguruza to set up the Serena Williams clash.
Serbian Djokovic, 31, needed elbow surgery in February to cure a problem that surfaced in 2017, but after some jarring defeats he returned to the kind of domination he achieved in 2015, winning Wimbledon and the US Open.