Stefanos Tsitsipas sets goal to end big 3, then books Novak Djokovic semi

Hours after setting his sights on a place in the top 3 of the rankings, Stefanos Tsitsipas earned a shot at Novak Djokovic at the World Tennis Championship.

Stefanos Tsitsipas defeated Andrey Rublev in straight sets at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship to book a semifinal against Novak Djokovic.

The Greek star, heavily tipped as a potential major winner for 2020, won 6-3 6-4 against Rublev in 68 minutes.

He will therefore take on Djokovic in an attractive last-four tie in Abu Dhabi on Friday.

In the lead up to his opening match against Rublev, Tsitsipas had made it clear his target for 2020 included forcing his way into the top three places in the ATP rankings currently filled by Rafael Nadal, Djokovic and Roger Federer.

And his win over Rublev means Tsitsipas will have a great chance to demonstrate his progress prior to the new season as he takes on world number two Djokovic, the 16-time Grand Slam champion.

The 21-year-old Tsitsipas told reporters, per the Daily Express, he also had other specific targets in mind as he looks to build on his victory at the ATP Finals at the end of the 2019 campaign.

"“We have Nadal, Djokovic, Federer, who are there, and have always been there,” he said.“And what I need to do is go the extra mile and surpass them and that’s going to be the biggest challenge for next year.“I need to surpass one of them in order for me to finish in the top-three next year.“I do have as a goal to win a Grand Slam title next year, that’s for sure, but it’s not a matter of life or death for me.“One of my goals for next year would be a Grand Slam title, finishing in the top-three by the end of the year, making the Nitto Finals again and winning a Masters 1000.”"

Tsitsipas said after his win over Rublev that the competition between he and Djokovic was “very intense” and was aware he faced a tough test.

He beat every member of the big 3 during the 2019 season, including an October win over DJokovic in Shanghai, though the Serbian came out on top when they played again at the Paris Masters the following month.

In the other semifinal, Karen Khachanov will take on Nadal after the Russian got the better of Hyeon Chung in their first-round encounter.

After edging a close first-set tie-break, Khachanov had a little more breathing space in the second and closed out a 7-6 6-4 victory.

Maria Sharapova took the honours in the women’s match, defeating Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic 6-4 7-5.

Tomljanovic had been standing in for the injured American youngster Amanda Anisimova at the high-profile exhibition tournament.

Serena Williams had played for the last two years at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship, but this time around is involved in her preseason training camp which included a boxing session with Mike Tyson.

Rublev and Chung are not done yet, as they will play a fifth-place play-off before the two semifinals, with Stefanos Tsitsipas’ match against Novak Djokovic looking like the standout match.