Sinner can put the heat on No. 1 Djokovic down under

Jannik Sinner continued his flawless run at the Australian Open with a straight-set win over Andrey Rublev on Tuesday morning. Sinner was in danger of dropping his first set of the tournament when he fell behind, 5-1, in a tiebreaker in the second frame, but the talismanic Italian won the next six points and ripped control of the match from the Russian.

Sinner has won 15 sets in a row in Melbourne and has really only been under pressure just once, in the tiebreaker against Rublev, during his first five matches.

That will change early Friday when Sinner has to take on World No. 1 and winner of 33 straight matches at the Australian Open, Novak Djokovic.

Djokovic’s path to the semifinals hasn’t been as clean as Sinner’s, but there’s nothing concerning about it either. The 24-time Grand Slam champion did drop a set in each of his first two matches, but he’s been lights out since then and is seemingly fully healthy after dealing with an illness in the first week of the tournament.

Taking on Djokovic, especially in Melbourne, is no easy task, but Sinner’s game does seem to be in the type of shape needed to challenge the best player in the world. And perhaps most importantly, the Italian has not spent a lot of time on court to get here, which is a massive boost for a player who has struggled with the wear and tear that Grand Slam tennis puts on your body in past years.

Djokovic has been invincible in Melbourne for six years and it’s not shocking to see money come pouring in on the Serb already, but Sinner has as good a chance as anyone to push the World No. 1 to the brink.

THE PLAY: Sinner +192

Michael Leboff handicaps tennis for The Action Network.