Djokovic to face Nadal in final
January 25, 2019
Australian Open top seed Novak Djokovic defeated Lucas Pouille in straight sets 6-0, 6-2, 6-2 on Thursday at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne to set up a date with Rafael Nadal in Sunday's final.
It will be the second time the two tennis heavyweights will face off in an Australian Open final, after Djokovic defeated Nadal in Melbourne 2012 to lift his third of five titles.
"I would definitely want to buy a ticket to that match," Djokovic said after his match against Pouille in regards to facing Nadal.
The Spaniard, who beat Stefanos Tsitsipas in his semifinal on Wednesday, has won the first grand slam of the year just once despite reaching the final four times previously.
The two have faced off 52 times previously in their illustrious careers, with the Serb holding a slight edge with 25 wins over the Spaniard.
No sweat in semifinal
Pouille did not pose Djokovic much of a challenge in Thursday's semifinal, a match that lasted just 1 hour and 23 minutes.
Ten unforced errors in the first set led the 28th-seeded Frenchman to come up empty in the first set. He then fell behind quickly in the second, with Djokovic taking a 3-1 lead after breaking serve in the fourth game. Pouille managed to win just three games from that point onward as the Serb dominated the match.
Djokovic has dropped just two sets in this year's tournament — the third set of his last 32 match with Denis Shapovalov and the second set against Daniil Medvedev in the round of 16.
The final is to take place at the Rod Laver Arena on Sunday.