![]() ![]() There was a sense of shock among a Melbourne crowd not used to seeing Djokovic struggle so badly on Rod Laver Arena. The way he dismantled Djokovic on Friday was a measure of his growth.įrom the start, he pressured his illustrious opponent into an uncharacteristic amount of errors and did not allow him a single break point.Īfter taking Djokovic's opening service game, Sinner continued to use his power and accuracy to break again for 5-1 before serving out an impeccable first set in 35 minutes. The caveat was those wins came over three sets.ĭoing it over the elongated five-set format is always a different proposition - as Sinner himself found out when he led by two sets in their Wimbledon quarter-final in 2022 before losing when Djokovic took it the full distance. Sinner came into the latest attempt to topple the world number one armed with the knowledge he has beaten Djokovic twice recently, following victories at the ATP Finals and the Davis Cup Finals at the end of last season. The answer has largely centred around Djokovic's greatness - his technique, fitness, mindset - but arguably the most significant factor has been an ingrained deference among his opponents. I just tried to be ready for the fourth set, which I started off really, really well."įor so long, particularly at Melbourne Park, the question has been this: why can't the younger generation stop Djokovic? "I felt like wasn't feeling that great so I kept pushing. "It was very, very tough," said Sinner, who is the first Italian to reach a Melbourne singles final. The Serb had won 33 matches in a row in Melbourne since losing to South Korea's Chung Hyeon in the fourth round six years ago. Sinner's elimination of Djokovic means there will be a new name on the Australian Open men's singles trophy. Russian third seed Medvedev, 27, won 5-7 3-6 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 in a remarkable second semi-final which lasted four hours 18 minutes and finished at 00:06 local time. Sinner, 22, faces Daniil Medvedev, who recovered from two sets down to beat Alexander Zverev, in Sunday's final. It ends Djokovic's bid for a record-extending 11th title and a 25th major to put him clear of Margaret Court. Serbia's Djokovic, 36, lost 6-1 6-2 6-7 (6-8) 6-3 as Sinner regrouped from not taking a match point in the tie-break. Novak Djokovic lost at the Australian Open for the first time since 2018 as Italian fourth seed Jannik Sinner reached his first Grand Slam final. ![]()
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