Australia: Italian player Jannik Sinner defeated Serbian player, Novak Djokovic, 6-1 6-2 6-7(6-8) 6-3, resulting in Djokovic’s first loss at the Australian Open in an incredible 2,195 days.
The 22-year-old Sinner, who defeated Djokovic in Melbourne to win his eleventh title, will now compete in his first grand slam final.
Additionally, it means that Djokovic’s quest for an unmatched, record-tying 25th grand slam victory is shelved after the Italians outplayed him during their three-hour, 22-minute match.
The Australian Open’s youngest male finalist since Djokovic won the championship in 2008, Sinner will play either Daniil Medvedev or Alexander Zverev in Sunday’s main draw.
Before the match, Djokovic had a 33-match winning streak in Melbourne. However, he played clumsily in the opening games, which was unusual for him.
In the first two sets, he committed 29 unintentional errors, compared to Sinner’s meaurements of just eight. In an hour and thirteen minutes, Sinner’s aggressive play and accuracy gave him a 2-0 lead.
In the third set, Djokovic tightened up his approach to try and gain some momentum, but he was unable to find a break on Sinner’s serve. In the tiebreak, Sinner created a match point after the third set was still in play, but he was unable to capitalise because he netted a forehand.
However, Djokovic prevailed over the next three points, bringing back memories of the Wimbledon quarterfinal in 2022, where the Serbian overcame a two-point deficit to win.
Sinner maintained control throughout and was able to complete the greatest victory of his career to date, breaking Djokovic at 2-1 in the fourth set after he had taken a 40-0 lead.
RECOMMENDED | US Open: Novak Djokovic wins record 24th Grand Slam title
