Novak Djokovic has rallied to take the fourth set 6-3 and send the Australian Open final against Dominic Thiem to a fifth set.
Seven-time Australian Open champion Djokovic won the first set 6-4, but lost six straight games after being called for a time violation on his serve in the ninth game of the second set. Thiem took the second and third sets 6-4, 6-2.
Djokovic had only dropped one set in the tournament — in the first round against Jan-Lennard Struff — until the final. He won his previous two finals at Melbourne Park in straight sets.
Djokovic has never lost a final or semifinal at the Australian Open.
Dominic Thiem has won the third set to lead the Australian Open final against Novak Djokovic by two sets to one.
Seven-time Australian Open champion Djokovic won the first set 6-4, but lost six straight games after being called for a time violation on his serve in the ninth game of the second set. Thiem took the second and third sets 6-4, 6-2.
Djokovic had only dropped one set in the tournament — in the first round against Jan-Lennard Struff — until the final. He won his previous two finals at Melbourne Park in straight sets.
Fifth-seeded Thiem, a 26-year-old Austrian, is aiming for his first major title after losing the last two finals at the French Open to Rafael Nadal.
Dominic Thiem has taken the second set to level the Australian Open final against seven-time champion Novak Djokovic.
After surrendering the first 6-4 with a double-fault on set point, Thiem broke Djokovic’s serve in the third game and then fended off a break point in the sixth game before dropping serve in the eighth to make it 4-4.
Fifth-seeded Thiem broke again in the next game after Djokovic was first warned by chair umpire Damien Dumusois for exceeding the 25-second serve clock at 15-30 and then penalized with a fault on break point for exceeding the time allowance again.
At the change over, Djokovic told Dumusois he’d done a “great job, especially in the second one. You made yourself famous.” Thiem held in the next game to take the set 6-4.
Earlier, Defending champion Novak Djokovic won the opening set of the Australian Open final 6-4 to take the lead over Dominic Thiem on Sunday.
Djokovic held a 3-0 lead before Thiem broke back but the Austrian then double-faulted on the second set point as he was serving to stay in the set.
Serbia’s Djokovic, 32, is seeking his eighth Australian Open title while Thiem, 26, is looking for his maiden Grand Slam crown.
