Novak Djokovic’s Australian Open title defence is over after a stunning four-set defeat to Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals.
Djokovic had been unbeaten at the Australian Open since 2018 and was on a 33-match winning run in Melbourne but Sinner advanced to his first grand slam final with a remarkable 6-1, 6-2, 6-7, 6-3 victory against the 10-time champion.
Djokovic was bidding for a 25th grand slam title this week but in Sinner, the 36-year-old faced a player who had beaten him in two of their previous three meetings at the end of last season.
The 22-year-old Italian dominated the opening exchanges to blitz an out-of-sorts Djokovic in two one-sided sets.
The third set was closer and Djokovic threatened the comeback after saving a match point to clinch the tiebreak. But Sinner responded to force the most uncharacteristic of games from Djokovic, with the Serbian being broken from 40-0 up midway through the fourth set. Sinner’s excellent serve stayed strong down the stretch to close out a historic victory.
In the other semi-final, Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev renewed their rivalry as they meet at a grand slam for the first time.
Zverev produced a sensational performance to defeat Carlos Alcaraz while Medvedev required another five-set epic to outlast Hubert Hurkacz.
Zverev has faced off-court scrutiny regarding his forthcoming domestic abuse trial – he denies the allegations – and is bidding to reach his first Australian Open final.
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