It's time to crown Australian Open champions

The GIST: After two weeks of shocking upsets and sheer domination Down Under, it’s time to crown the first Grand Slam champions of the year. No sleep till Melbourne.

Women’s singles: After taking down America’s favorite teen, No. 4 Coco Gauff, in straight sets in yesterday’s semifinal, No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka will look to defend her Aussie Open title against No. 12 Qinwen Zheng, a first-time Slam finalist, tomorrow at 3:30 a.m. ET.

• Sabalenka hasn’t dropped a single set en route to becoming the first woman to reach back-to-back Australian Open finals since Serena Williams did it eight years ago.

• But Zheng has hit more aces than any other woman this tourney, and her strong serve could disrupt Sabalenka’s flow. Pop that corn Brew that coffee and tune in.

Men’s singles: No. 1 Novak Djokovic will have to wait a bit longer to win a record-setting 25th Grand Slam after being upset by No. 4 Jannik Sinner in last night’s semifinal. The win marks Sinner’s third victory over the Joker since November and ensures this year’s men’s champ will be a first-time winner, with the 22-year-old facing No. 3 Daniil Medvedev in Sunday’s early morning final.

• As for Medvedev, he topped the controversial No. 6 Alexander Zverev in a five-set thriller this morning, coming back from two sets down to book his third Aussie Open final appearance. Wow.

• Medvedev has never won Melbourne’s finest trophy, losing to Djokovic in 2021 and Rafael Nadal in 2022.