Earthquake in Melbourne: world number one Novak Djokovic, ten-time winner of the Australian Open, who had not lost a match there since 2018, was eliminated in the semi-final by world number 4 Jannik Sinner 6- 1, 6-2, 6-7 (6/8), 6-3 Friday.
A first major final for Sinner
Djokovic was seeking an unprecedented 25th Grand Slam title in Melbourne, at age 36. At 22, Sinner will play his very first major final on Sunday. The young Italian will face either world No.3 Daniil Medvedev or No.6 Alexander Zverev, opposed later in the day. To take stock of what Sinner has achieved on the Rod Laver Arena, we must remember that Djokovic made the Australian Open his private preserve almost to the same extent that Rafael Nadal transformed Roland-Garros into a fortress ( 14 titles). Djokovic remained on 33 matches won consecutively on the courts of Melbourne Park.
His last defeat dates back to 2018 (in the round of 16). Since then, he had collected four more titles in five editions. The only exception: 2022, the year of his incredible expulsion from Australia, for lack of being vaccinated against Covid-19. Until then, each time he had reached the last four, the Serb had finished the Australian fortnight with the trophy in his hands.
Zero break point
He was there in search of an eleventh triumph in Melbourne, and an unprecedented 25th Grand Slam coronation. He shares, at least for a while, the absolute record with the Australian Margaret Court. Beyond the result, it is the manner that is striking. When after 73 minutes, Sinner led 6-1, 6-2, showing off his exceptional shot quality, and Djokovic, unrecognizable, as if anesthetized without any obvious immediate explanation, you had to pinch yourself to believe it.
Certainly, the world No.1 was not having his quietest Australian fortnight. Certainly, he remained in a grueling duel in the middle of the quarter-finals on Tuesday afternoon. But nothing suggested such a scenario, even less on the Rod Laver Arena, his favorite playground, even against Sinner, the only player to have been able to beat him after Wimbledon and until the end of the year 2023. On the verge of a defeat in three sets, faced with a match point at 6 points at 5 in the deciding game, Djokovic managed almost by miracle to prolong the game.
But once he counted a break in advance in the fourth set, Sinner, this time, had the last word, almost an hour after his first match point. In 3h22 min, Djokovic did not get a single break point. “I learned a lot from my Wimbledon loss against him,” Sinner said on court just after qualifying. He then lost in three sets on the London lawn during the quarter-finals last July.
“I was looking forward to this match, it’s always great to have this type of player against you,” he added. Never has an Italian player won the Australian Open.