Stefanos Tsitsipas blazed his way into a first Australian Open final with a 7-6(2) 6-4 6-7(6) 6-3 win over Russian-Armenian player Karen Khachanov on Friday, January 27, as the third-seeded Greek inched closer to becoming world number one, Reuters reports.

Tsitsipas, who had crashed three times at the semi-final stage at Melbourne Park, will take on favourite Novak Djokovic or Tommy Paul for the title.

Winning his first Grand Slam crown on Sunday would see Tsitsipas take the number one spot from Spain's Carlos Alcaraz, who is absent from the tournament due to injury.

During his wins against Frances Tiafoe and Yoshihito Nishioka, Khachanov signed the camera by writing “Stay strong, Artsakh”, referring to the blockade of Nagorno Karabakh, since mid-December. Khachanov’s father, Abgar, is from Armenia’s capital city, Yerevan.