Jannik Sinner delivers sensational performance to defeat defending Champion Novak Djokovic and advance to Australian Open final

Jannik Sinner defeated defending champion Novak Djokovic 6-1 6-2 6-7(6) 6-3 on Friday at the Australian Open, handing the top seed his first loss at Melbourne Park in six years and advancing to his first Grand Slam final.

Sinner delivered a master class in tennis in the first two sets, setting the stage for Djokovic's only loss in the semi-finals of his favourite major.

It also made the youngster the only Italian player to reach the Australian Open singles final.

The Melbourne title match on Sunday will be the first since 2005 that will not feature Djokovic or fellow "Big Three" members Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal, ushering in a new era of tennis.

"It was a very, very tough match," said Sinner, who faced no break points throughout the match.

"I started out very well, for two sets I felt that he was not feeling too good on court so I just tried to keep pushing and then in the third set I had match point and I missed the forehand, but you know, this is tennis."

"I just tried to be ready for the next set, which I started off really well, and of course the atmosphere was so great. It's so great to play here."

Fourth seed Sinner stunned Djokovic twice in three matches at the end of last season, and he got off to a flying start on Rod Laver Arena, taking advantage of his 36-year-old opponent's shaky serve and error-prone backhand to easily win the first set.

Djokovic had not lost at his favourite venue since the 2018 edition, when he was defeated by South Korean Chung Hyeon, and there were concerns for the 10-time Melbourne champion as the 22-year-old Sinner breezed through the next set after a double break.

"He outplayed me completely today," Djokovic said. "I was shocked with my level in a bad way. Not much that I was doing right... This is one of the worst Grand Slam matches I have played, that I can remember.

"At the same time, credit to him for doing everything better than me in every aspect of the game."

The Sinner tsunami showed no signs of abating in the third set, but Djokovic raised his game to hold on until 5-5 in the tiebreak, when a break in play due to a fan falling ill threatened to disrupt both players' momentum.

Djokovic won the game on a net cord to move closer to winning the set, but Sinner demonstrated excellent racket control with an overhead smash to force a tiebreak, only to squander a match point at 6-5 by hitting a forehand into the net.

Djokovic won the next three points to take a set back, prompting loud cheers from the crowd.

However, Sinner broke for a 3-1 lead in the fourth set and pulled away to end the Serb's 33-match winning streak at Melbourne Park and his quest for a record 25th major.

"I was looking forward to this match, it's always nice to have this kind of player where you can learn from," Sinner said.

"I lost (to him) last year in the semis at Wimbledon, I learned a lot from that, and it's all part of the process."

Sinner's victory meant that he had defeated Djokovic in the ATP Finals, Davis Cup, and Grand Slam.

When asked why his game was so difficult for Djokovic, Sinner laughed and said, "I don't know; ask him."

"We play similar and first of all you have to try and return as many balls as possible. He's such an incredible server, and I just try to guess sometimes, you know, trying to push, trying to move him around a little bit."

"I'm not going to give you the tactics because I hope I'm going to play him in a couple of different matches."

Sinner said he was riding a wave of confidence from last year and was looking forward to Sunday's final, where he will face Daniil Medvedev or Alexander Zverev.

"I have the belief that I can play the best players in the world. On Sunday, I'm in my first final. Let's see how it goes. I'm really happy, I'll come here with a smile and try my best."

"I'll watch it (the next semi-final) for sure, I'm a huge tennis fan. I'm a bit more relaxed now. They're such incredible players and have played so many times. It's going to be really interesting."

SportsLigue