Talk of the King's death may be exaggerated, but Roger Federer's Australian Open crown will have a new owner after Sunday's men's final.
Ice-cool Serbian Novak Djokovic and sizzling Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will fight for the year's maiden Grand Slam. One will end the showdown with their first major title.
In a final packed full of firsts - the first men's decider on the blue plexicushion surface, the first without Federer since 2005 and the first major final for Tsonga - the combatants will go head-to-head having never played one another before.
Supporters worried nerves may be a factor for Tsonga, the world No.38 before the tournament, will be calmed by his relaxed media appearance on Saturday morning.
On the eve of the biggest match of his life, Tsonga traded jokes and flashed his trademark smile at the waiting media in yet another smooth appearance.
The laid-back Tsonga, who can leap to No.9 in the world with victory in Melbourne, fronted the hungry media on Saturday morning displaying all the charisma and charm that has won over the sports-mad city in the past fortnight.
He said the intense press coverage that goes hand in hand with an appearance at a major tournament had not taken a toll on him.
"No, no, I don't think about it. It's normal," he said.
"You have to write on me, and I know my life so I don't have to read it in the paper."
Like Marcos Baghdatis and Fernando Gonzalez before him, Tsonga has ridden a wave of crowd support to the final and thrives on the big stage.
Djokovic, an extroverted character himself, is among the elite young players many believe are closing the gap on world No.1 Federer.
He is excited to begin the year in a final that could be the beginning of a long and thrilling rivalry between two fresh faces.
"I think every sport is waiting to have some new faces on the tour. Tsonga is coming up. He's just amazing athlete," Djokovic said.
"He's been performing some impressive tennis in these two weeks, as I did. I didn't still lose even a set here in Australian Open, which is amazing."
"It's gonna be interesting very much to see young players playing against each other."
Tsonga agreed that it was an exciting time for the game of tennis and labelld Djokovic a difficult opponent.
"He won yesterday. He played well," Tsonga said.
"It's never easy to beat Federer. We will play tomorrow at the final, and it's going to be a big moment of sports."
Meanwhile, the tournament's penultimate clash will see mixed doubles action take the spotlight.
Tiantian Sun of China and Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia, the tournament's fifth seeds, will take on Indian duo Sania Mirza and Mahesh Bhupathi.
