SUMMARY
- Novak Djokovic was chasing a record at the Australian Open, but Jannik Sinner dashed his hopes.
- Sinner was tactically brilliant against the defending champion.
The Australian Open has been a rollercoaster of action and drama for two weeks straight. With the first Grand Slam of the year racing toward the finish line, it has witnessed glorious triumphs and shocking exits. However, the biggest upset awaited in the semifinals, when Jannik Sinner knocked out the defending champion, Novak Djokovic.
Djokovic has a glorious history at Melbourne Park. He has won the title a record ten times in his career, and he was eyeing his 11th this time. Sinner ruthlessly stopped the Djokovic juggernaut in front of an astonished crowd at the Rod Laver Arena. He emphatically defeated the Serb 6-1, 6-2, 6-7 (6-8), 6-3 to book his first Grand Slam final berth.
So what went wrong for Novak? Sinner came into the match having defeated Novak in their last two encounters. He pressed his advantage against an out-of-sorts Djokovic this time and got the last laugh. Jannik immediately got to dismantling Novak when he broke his first service game. He kept at it and broke Novak again to get to 5-1, and then closed out the first set quite comfortably.
#4 Jannik Sinner beats #1 and 10-time champ Novak Djokovic 6-1, 6-2, 6-7(6), 6-3 in 3h22 to reach his first career Grand Slam final at the #AusOpen. Biggest win of his career.
3rd win over Djokovic in 9 weeks.
Djokovic’s streak of 33 consecutive wins in Melbourne is now OVER! pic.twitter.com/9E4wfckY0b
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) January 26, 2024
Djokovic has previously mounted successful comebacks despite losing the opening set. Sinner, however, pressured him into making an uncharacteristic number of unforced errors. Djokovic tried all he could, but he ended the match with 54 unforced errors, compared to Sinner’s 28.
Novak looked a little improved in the third set and was finally able to win the set after a tense tiebreak. Jannik started the fourth set on a strong note. He immediately forced three breakpoints in Novak’s opening game, which he managed to save. Unfortunately, he blew his 40-0 lead and handed Jannik the break for 3-1, which proved costly.
Djokovic won only 67% of points on his first serve, compared to Jannik’s 83%. His second serve was abysmal, at 46%. Djokovic only managed to win 98 points against Sinner’s 128.
Novak Djokovic has failed to earn a single break point in a completed Grand Slam match for the first time in his career. #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/jjCkjKKNz0
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) January 26, 2024
For the first time in his career, Novak Djokovic failed to earn a single breakpoint. The Serb suffered his hardest loss at his favorite hunting ground.
Jannik Sinner’s confession after defeating Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open
The young Italian has been in terrific form since the second half of the 2023 season. Sinner collected titles as his game improved under Darren Cahill. And now, Jannik has created history by becoming the first player to defeat Djokovic in the Australian Open semifinal.
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐒𝐓 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐘𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐎 𝐁𝐄𝐀𝐓 𝐍𝐎𝐕𝐀𝐊 𝐃𝐉𝐎𝐊𝐎𝐕𝐈𝐂 𝐈𝐍 𝐀𝐍 𝐀𝐔𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐍 𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐍 𝐒𝐄𝐌𝐈-𝐅𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐋 🤯
Jannik Sinner makes history en route to reaching his first-ever Grand Slam final 👏#AusOpen pic.twitter.com/88MnpBVAmu
— Eurosport (@eurosport) January 26, 2024
Jannik’s winning streak against Novak dates back to their ATP Finals clash in Turin. He followed it up with another win over the Serb at the Davis Cup. Following his latest victory, he gave an honest answer about why Novak finds it difficult to play him.
“I don’t know, ask him. I think we play really similar. Trying to return as many balls as possible… he’s an incredible server. I tried to guess some of the time. Trying to move him around,” he said (via Tennis365).
Sinner after becoming first man to beat Djokovic at Australian Open in 6 years
Courier: “What is it in your game that makes it so difficult for him?
Jannik: “I don’t know. Ask him. 😂 I think we play really similar. Taking to return as many balls as possible.. he’s an… pic.twitter.com/NdyEC3qELX
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) January 26, 2024
As a professional player, Novak Djokovic is familiar with failure. He is chasing his 25th major title and will take his time to reflect and then come back stronger. As for Jannik Sinner, he will take on Daniil Medvedev in the final on January 28.