Jannik Sinner ended Novak Djokovic’s quest for tennis immortality at the Australian Open on Friday, ending the Serb’s record 33-match winning streak at Melbourne Park and his bid for a 25th Grand Slam title.
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The Italian number four seed was unfazed by losing his first set of the tournament to the king of Rod Laver Arena, winning 6-1, 6-2, 6-7 (6/8), 6-3 to reach his first Grand Slam final.
He will face either third seed Daniil Medvedev or sixth seed Alexander Zverev in Sunday’s title match.
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“It was a very tough game,” Sinner said. “I started really well. He failed in the first two sets. I felt like he wasn’t doing that well on the court so I just tried to keep pushing.”
The Italian number four seed was not fazed by losing his first set of the tournament (AP/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)
Ten-time champion Djokovic, who had not tasted defeat at the Australian Open since 2018, was seeking a record 25 Grand Slam titles, but Sinner blew up the script in spectacular fashion.
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Djokovic had no answer once morest his 22-year-old opponent early in the match but didn’t help himself, committing 29 unforced errors over the first two sets in an unusually sloppy performance, compared to just eight for Sinner.
The 36-year-old lacked his usual metronomic consistency as the unflappable Sinner, unconcerned regarding facing a man who had never lost a semi-final at Melbourne Park, raced into a 3-0 lead.
The Italian broke serve once more in the sixth game and took the set when Djokovic sent a forehand wide.
The decibel level on Center Court increased at the start of the second set and Djokovic settled with a convincing serve.
The 36-year-old lacked his usual metronomic consistency (REUTERS/Issei Kato)
But his error count continued to rise and Sinner, who had beaten Djokovic in two of their previous three meetings, broke in the third game to establish a tight grip on the match.
Djokovic encouraged the crowd to help him and chants of “Nole” echoed through the packed stadium, but he was broken once more and fell two sets down.
The match was stopped at 5-5, 40-40 while medical staff tended to a fan in the crowd, but Djokovic waved off the interruption to hold serve and the set went to a tiebreaker.
The Serb moved forward but Sinner came back to get his first match point, only to miss a forehand into the net.
Djokovic had no answer once morest his 22-year-old opponent early in the match but didn’t help himself, committing 29 unforced errors during the first two sets (AP/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)
Djokovic made no mistake when his chance to take the set presented itself, raising his clenched fist to the crowd.
But the Serb’s serve came under renewed pressure in the fourth set and he gave way to give Sinner a 3-1 lead.
The Italian remained calm to close the match and end an era at Melbourne Park.
(AFP)
