Novak Djokovic secured an emphatic victory over Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals of the Australian Open on Thursday, which pushed the 24-time Grand Slam winner to his limits over more than four hours
Novak Djokovic is into his 11th Australian Open, where he will face Carlos Alcaraz after a five-set epic(Image: Getty Images)
Novak Djokovic will play world No.1 Carlos Alcaraz in Sunday’s men’s final of the Australian Open after battling past defending champion Jannik Sinner. The 24-time Grand Slam champion rolled back the clocks to best the Italian 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 on Friday after Alcaraz won the longest-ever semi-final Down Under in five hours and 27 minutes against Alexander Zverev.
The Italian eased into a 3-0 lead in the opening set as he looked to continue his recent dominance over the Serb. Sinner had won the previous five meetings and nine sets between them.
That impressive streak looked set to continue when Sinner clinched the opener with relative ease. Djokovic had not won a set since his third-round win over Botic van de Zandschulp last Saturday after his fourth-round opponent, Jakub Mensik, pulled out injured before a ball was hit.
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He then lost the first two sets in his quarter-final against Lorenzo Musetti before the world No.5 retired injured. But Djokovic responded in impressive fashion as he so often has on Rod Laver Arena since winning his first Grand Slam title at the tournament in 2008.
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The 38-year-old redlined his game in the second set with aggressive baseline tennis to win his first set against Sinner since the semi-finals at Melbourne Park in 2024. The former world No.1, chasing an outright record 25th Grand Slam, opened his shoulders to leave his younger opponent flailing.
However, the ageing Serb began to feel the intensity of Friday’s match, and several loose errors deep in the third set saw Sinner cinch it by breaking Djokovic at 4-5. The veteran Serb was seen bending down between points and collapsing into his chair at changeovers as his 24-year-old opponent looked to be outlasting him.
There was, however, one more twist, as Djokovic’s resilience shone through by breaking Sinner in the first game of the fourth set. He continued to find a good rhythm on serve – a major weapon in his game during the twilight years of his career – saving several break points.
And it paid dividends again to serve out a thrilling fourth and ensure both men’s semi-finals would go the distance. It also ensured the first five-setter between them since the 2022 Wimbledon quarter-finals, which Djokovic won from two sets down.
The Serbian’s serve continued to cause Sinner problems in the fifth as he saw off two break points in the second game. He then battled to save more break points in the fourth game as Sinner pushed for a crucial advantage in the final set.
Djokovic took a 4-3 lead over Sinner to put himself in a fantastic position to break through into the final, as each rally proved more and more relenting for the 24-time Grand Slam winner. Despite being doubled over with exhaustion, Djokovic pushed the set to 5-3, needing just one more game to take the match in its entirety.
Sinner, showing the utmost figh,t managed to pull it back to 5-4 with a whitewash of the tennis great in the next game, fatigue painting both men’s faces. Serving for the match, the crowd inside the Rod Laver Arena showed their support for Djokovic as he stepped up to the line.
An ace secured a 15-love start for the Serbian, before a misplaced return on Sinner’s part saw him make the magic 30-love mark. The Italian managed to pull it back to 30-15, but Djokovic was back to winning ways in the very next point to push it to 40-15. The arena fell silent, knowing what was riding on the next point, but Djokovic was made to wait for his win, as Sinner secured the point.
At 40-30, cracks once again started to show on Djokovic’s part, with the defending champion pulling it back to 40-40. However, Djokovic took an advantage with the very next serve, as Sinner’s return landed out.
After a tense rally, it was another error on Sinner’s part, which gave Djokovic the game, set and match. Speaking after the win, an emotional Djokovic said: “I’m lost for words right now, to be honest,” as he soaked up the atmosphere. He added: “It feels surreal to be honest, playing over four hours, almost 2am.
“Reminiscing in 2012 when I played Rafa (Nadal) in the finals. That was six hours almost, but the level of intensity and I guess the quality of tennis was extremely high, and I knew that was the only way for me to have a chance to win tonight against him.
“He won the last five matches against me. He had my mobile number so I had to change my number for tonight. Jokes aside, I told him at the net, ‘Thanks for allowing me at least one in the last couple of years.’
“I have tremendous respect for him, incredible player. He pushes you to the very limit, which is what he did tonight to me, so he deserves a great round of applause, obviously for his performance.”
He continued: “I cannot thank enough the support to all the people, you guys have been incredible tonight. I love our passionate relationship, every year something different, you know. And tonight has been one of the, if not the best nights, atmosphere-wise, support-wise I’ve ever had in Australia. For sure. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
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