History was made in Melbourne late on Thursday night, as Novak Djokovic lost a semifinal at the Australian Open for the first time in his legendary career.
After going a ridiculous 20-0 in Aussie Open semis and finals — en route to winning the men's singles title 10 times — the greatest player in the history of the tournament finally passed the torch at Rod Laver Arena.
And it was the Italian phenom Jannik Sinner — who hadn't dropped a set in the entire tournament entering the final four — that finally sent the Serbian home without a trophy, beating Djokovic 6-1, 6-2, 6-7 (6), 6-3 in three hours and 26 minutes.
The 22-year-old broke the 36-year-olds serve twice in each of the first two sets, opening up a commanding 2-0 lead and not looking back. Sinner will be the youngest player to contest the men's final in Australia since Djokovic won the first of his 10 titles in 2008, per The Associated Press.
“I think you win the matches not only on that day, you win it because you feel prepared for a good fight,” Sinner said afterwards, per AP. “After last year, especially end of the year, gave me confidence that I could potentially do some good results in Grand Slams.”
It was a little bit of revenge for Sinner, who lost to Novak Djokovic in last year's Wimbledon semifinals.
“I learned a lot from that,” Sinner said of the 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (4) final four loss in London. “It gives you a better feeling when you know that you can beat one player. The confidence from the end of last year has for sure kept the belief.”
Jannik Sinner to meet Daniil Medvedev in Australian Open Final
It truly was an incredible, axis-tilting win for Sinner, who moves on to play another familiar face in Russian superstar Daniil Medvedev in the final.
Medvedev was down two sets to love to German Sasha Zverev in his respective semifinal, but was somehow able to mount a late-night comeback in a thrilling 5-7, 3-6, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5), 6-3 win.
“I was a little bit lost, but during the third set I started saying ‘If I lose this match, I just want to be proud of myself,'” Medvedev explained. “I'm proud of myself.”
As Medvedev should be. And he'll have another chance to win his first Australian Open after losing to Djokovic in the final in 2021, and advancing all the way again the next year, just to lose to Rafael Nadal in a five-set classic in 2022.
Novak Djokovic won the tourney again in 2023, defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets.
But in 2024, either Jannik Sinner or Daniil Medvedev will capture their first ever Australian Open title. Will it be a second major for the Russian, or a first victory in a first-ever Grand Slam final for the Italian?
We'll find out at Rod Laver Arena on Sunday morning.
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