Italian Jannik Sinner defeated defending champion Novak Djokovic 6-1, 6-2, 6-7(6) and 6-3 at the Australian Open, this Friday. It was the seed’s first tournament defeat at Melbourne Park in the last six years and the first time Jannik Sinner has reached a Grand Slam final.
Jannik Sinner occupies fourth position in the ranking ATP and had already surprised Djokovic twice in three games at the end of last season. He made a good start to the game at Rod Laver Arena, taking advantage of his 36-year-old opponent’s shaky serve and his backhand error-prone, comfortably winning the first set.
Djokovic has not lost in his favorite venue since the 2018 edition, when he fell to South Korean Chung Hyeon. But the signs that history would repeat itself appeared before the Australian Open champion (a title won for 10 years) in the second half, when Sinner, 22 years old, dominated the set common double break.
O tsunami de Sinner showed no signs of slowing down in the third setbut Djokovic raised his game to remain firm until the tie breakwhen the Italian wasted a match point at 6-5 with a forehand at the net, giving his opponent a lifeline.
Djokovic won the next three points and recovered one setwhich was applauded, but Sinner regained a 3-1 lead in the fourth set and got the better of the game, breaking the Serb’s run of 33 wins at Melbourne Park and putting an end to his quest for a 25th fifth major victory, something that would have allowed him to equal Margaret Court’s record.
Sinner has never won a Grand Slam tournament. The Australian Open final will take place this Sunday, with the 22-year-old Italian facing the winner of the match between Daniil Medvedev, third in the world, and German Alexander Zverev, sixth in the world. ranking ATP.