Novak Djokovic suffered his first defeat since 2018 in the Australian Open 2024 Grand Slam held on hard courts in Melbourne. In Friday’s semi-final, the Serb lost to Jannik Sinner in four sets.
Marcin Motyka
January 26, 2024, 08:09
PAP/EPA / Lukas Coch / In the photo: Novak Djokovic Jannik Sinner reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open 2024 in impressive style and without losing a set. In this phase, he faced the most difficult task possible – a match with Novak Djokovic, the ten-time champion of the event in Melbourne. However, the fourth-seeded Italian showed excellent form again, rose to the challenge and defeated the top-seeded Serb 6-1, 6-2, 6-7(6), 6-3.
It wasn’t a good match for Djokovic from the start. The Serb, a 24-time Grand Slam champion, including a ten-time winner of the tournament in Melbourne, had problems with the effectiveness of his serve, was unable to cope with the return, and in exchanges he made many mistakes and gave up the initiative. As a result, he won only three games in the first two sets.
After two disastrous games, in which he recorded as many as 27 unforced errors, Djokovic slightly raised his level and calmed down the game. This translated into events on the court. The match became much more even. There were no breaks in the third set and a tie break was needed.
The additional gameplay brought a lot of excitement. Sinner went from 2-4 to 5-4, and at 6-5 he won the game. However, he did not take advantage of the opportunity and put his forehand into the net. Djokovic then scored a point at 7-6, giving him a set point, at which the Italian sent his backhand into the outfield. Thus, the Serb saved himself from defeat and extended his chances.
However, in the fourth set, the image of the match returned to what had happened in the opening hour. Djokovic again played uncertainly, got frustrated and made mistakes. In the second game of this game, the Serb defended himself from breaking, but in the fourth game he made a mistake with the forehand on the break point and lost the serve.
Sinner then took a 3-1 lead and had an open path to victory. He also withstood the pressure in the last game, when he won the match ball and finished the match with a winning forehand down the line.
After the last ball, Sinner remained calm. He did not celebrate his life’s success or his third career victory over Djokovic. He thanked his opponent, the referee and the fans, and then went towards his bench as if he had performed a routine task.
The match lasted three hours and 22 minutes. During that time, Sinner served nine aces, never had to defend against a break, converted five of 11 break points, sent 31 finishing shots and made 28 unforced errors. Djokovic, in turn, was credited with seven aces, 32 winning strokes and as many as 54 errors.
Thus, the 22-year-old from San Candido advanced to the first Grand Slam final in his career. He became the fifth Italian in history to play in a Grand Slam title match, after Nicola Pietrangeli, Matteo Berrettini, Adriano Panatta and Giorgio de Stefani.
In turn, Djokovic will not win his 25th Grand Slam title in Melbourne and will not become an independent leader in the classification taking into account the number of triumphs in Grand Slam tournaments regardless of gender (Margaret Court also has 24 triumphs). His streak of 33 consecutive match victories in Melbourne also came to an end. He also lost for the first time in the semi-finals of the Australian Open.
Australian Open, Melbourne (Australia)
Grand Slam, hard court, prize pool of AUD 86.5 million
Friday, January 26
singles semi-final:
Jannik Sinner (Włochy, 4) – Novak Djokovic (Serbia, 1) 6:1, 6:2, 6:7(6), 6:3
Program and results of the men’s tournament
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