Melbourne [Australia], January 26 : In a dramatic and simply incredible semifinal clash at Merlbourne's Rod Laver Arena, 22-year-old Jannik Sinner defeated top seed and 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic to seal his place in the Australia Open final.
In one of the biggest upsets, Djokovic was outplayed by Sinner 1-6, 2-6, 7-6 (6), 3-6 in three hours and 21 minutes. With this stunning victory, Sinner became the first man to defeat Djokovic in the Australian Open semi-finals.
"It was a very, very tough match. I started off really well. For two sets, I felt like he was not feeling that great on court so I just tried to keep pushing. Then in the third set I had a match point and I missed the forehand, but this is tennis," Sinner said in his on-court interview as quoted by ATP.
"I just tried to be ready also for the next set, which I started off really well. And obviously, the atmosphere was so great to play here," the Italian player said.
Djokovic saved a match chance in the third-set tie-break but was eventually unable to respond to his opponent's challenge on a fairly off-colour afternoon. The Serbian committed 54 unforced errors and did not create a breakpoint as the Italian stuck to a methodical game style that appeared to challenge Djokovic to beat him in rallies.
Sinner played within himself and showed incredible mental power to fight off a late attack by the World No. 1, who gradually regained form as the match progressed.
He was smart in tactics and execution, knocking Djokovic back with his weight of shot, but the Serbian fueled his opponent's confidence with a lacklustre early performance that was the polar opposite of his customary level in high-stakes matches.
Djokovic had been below his best for much of the Melbourne fortnight, but his propensity to improve in the final stages of majors has helped him win a record 24 Grand Slam singles championships. In this instance, the Serbian level dropped instead, resulting in a failed late surge.
The "tie-break king" then forced a fourth set by winning the 21st of his last 23 tie-breaks, fending off a match point when Sinner blinked and missed a straightforward forehand.
But Sinner pressed on in the fourth set and swiftly regained control at Rod Laver Arena, allaying worries of a repetition of the 2022 Wimbledon quarter-final, when Djokovic rallied from two sets down to defeat him. With this shocking defeat, Djokovic's 33-match Melbourne winning streak ended, handing him his first Australian Open defeat since 2018.
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