Sinner ousts Djokovic, meets Medvedev in final
Jannik Sinner ended Novak Djokovic’s bid for a record 25th Grand Slam title on Friday, snapping the Serb’s astonishing 33-match winning run at Melbourne Park to reach his first major final.
The Italian fourth seed was unfazed by dropping his first set of the tournament against the king of Rod Laver Arena, winning the semifinal 6-1, 6-2, 6-7 (6/8), 6-3.
Daniil Medvedev battled into his third Australian Open final with a come-from-behind five-set defeat of Alexander Zverev to set up a title match against Sinner on Sunday.
The never-say-die Russian third seed was in a precarious position on Rod Laver Arena but fought back to win 5-7, 3-6, 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (7/5), 6-3 in a match lasting four hours 18 minutes.
Ten-time champion Djokovic fought off a match point in the third-set tie-break but notched up 54 errors and failed to create a single break point in a sub-par display by his stellar standards.
“It was a very tough match,” said Sinner. “I started off really well. He missed in the first 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 match point and I missed the forehand but this is tennis. I just tried to be ready for the next set, which I started off really well.”
Sinner, 22, said he felt he had learned from defeat to Djokovic in last year’s Wimbledon semifinals – the farthest he had previously gone at a Grand Slam – and had been looking forward to the match.
“I think we play really similar – you have to return as many balls as possible, he’s such an incredible server,” he said. “So I was just trying to push him around a little bit – I’m not going to tell you the tactics.”
Djokovic, who had not tasted defeat at the Australian Open since 2018, lacked his usual metronomic consistency as the super-cool Sinner raced into a 3-0 lead.
Djokovic said he was “shocked” by the level of his performance.
“He’s deservedly in the finals,” said the 36-year-old. “He outplayed me completely today.
“Look, I was, in a way, shocked with my level, you know, in a bad way. There was not much I was doing right in the first two sets.
“I guess this is one of the worst Grand Slam matches I’ve ever played. At least that I remember.”