Jannik Sinner staged a massive upset at the Australian Open by knocking out Novak Djokovic from the Australian Open on Friday. Sinner ended Djokovic’s record 33-match winning streak at Melbourne Park.
The Italian star produced a stellar show to dominate Djokovic in the semis and beat the tennis great 6-1, 6-2, 6-7 (6/8), 6-3 to reach a first Grand Slam final.
It was Djokovic’s first defeat at the Australian Open since 2018 but Sinner changed the script in a dominant fashion to end the Serb’s record-breaking 25th Grand Slam title bid.
The 22-year-old Italian put Djokovic under pressure right from the start of the match as a result the Australian Open veteran committed 29 unforced errors during the first two sets in an uncharacteristically sloppy showing, compared with just eight for Sinner.
“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.”
The 36-year-old lacked his usual metronomic consistency as the super-cool Sinner, unconcerned at facing a man who had never lost a semi-final at Melbourne Park, raced into a 3-0 lead.
The Italian broke again in the sixth game and seized the set when Djokovic went long with a forehand.
The decibel count on centre court rose at the start of the second set and Djokovic settled himself with a convincing hold.
But his error count continued to mount and Sinner, who had beaten Djokovic in two of their previous three contests, broke in the third game to establish a vice-like grip on the match.
Djokovic urged the crowd to come to his aid and cries of “Nole” rang around the packed stadium but he was broken again and slipped two sets down.
The match was paused at 5-5, 40-40 as medical staff treated a fan in the crowd but Djokovic brushed off the interruption to hold serve and the set went to a tie-break.
The Serb nudged ahead but Sinner came back to earn his first match point, only to dump a forehand into the net.
Djokovic made no mistake when presented with his chance to take the set, raising his clenched fist to the crowd.
But the Serbian’s serve came under renewed pressure again in the fourth set and he cracked to give Sinner a 3-1 lead.
The Italian kept his nerve to close out the match and end an era at Melbourne Park.
(With Agency Inputs)
