MADRID, 26 Ene. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Italian Jannik Sinner qualified this Friday for his first 'Grand Slam' final by ending the love affair with the Serbian Novak Djokovic in the semifinals of the Australian Open in which he won with some solvency in four sets 6-1, 6 -2, 6-7(), 6-3 in just over three hours.
The world number one will not be able to add his eleventh crown in Melbourne, the tournament that he had almost turned into his private 'garden' and where he had been proclaimed champion in his last four appearances. In fact, without taking into account his non-participation in 2021, the one from Belgrade had not lost a match in this 'big' since 2018 when he lost in the round of 16 against the South Korean Hyeon Chung, he had not done so against a 'Top 5' since 2007 (Roger Federer -eighth-) and had never lost in the penultimate round.
But with all this statistics, a Sinner ended up confirming what he had been warning about since his 2023 grand final and his performance in the tournament, among the four best without having given up a set or having been in real trouble. The Italian played at a high level, especially in the first two sets and 'Nole' never quite felt comfortable under the sun of the Rod Laver Arena, where he finished his attempt to add his twenty-fifth 'Grand Slam' and maintain his tie in the highest in history with the Australian Margaret Court.
Djokovic 'helped' a much more solid rival and was very unknown in what his best virtues are. He finished the duel with 54 unforced errors, more than half (29) between the first two sets, and his rest did not harm the fourth seed, who did not have to face any breaking ball, was more balanced (31 ' winners' by 28 unforced errors) and that when he served with 'firsts' it was almost inaccessible for the Serbian.
Sinner, encouraged by his victories also indoors in the ATP Finals and in the Davis Cup against 'Nole', clearly dominated the first two rounds and after an hour and a quarter he saw his first 'big' final very close, But he also could not forget what happened in 2022 in the Wimbledon quarterfinals when Djokovic overcame a similar disadvantage. However, more mature and supported by his confidence and his tennis, he did not let his loot escape despite the expected improvement of the world number one.
Thus, the third set was the most even. The current champion raised his level, but the Italian did not let up enough, especially with the serve and he was the only one who had a chance to rest, with a break ball in the first game. Finally, he had to decide on 'sudden death' where Djokovic, after saving a match point with his serve, gave himself an extra life (8/6).
But as happened to the German Alexander Zverev in the quarterfinals when the Spanish Carlos Alcaraz took a third set that he had lost, the one from San Candido did not get nervous. He forgave the ten-time champion on his first serve where he wasted a 15-40 and one more break ball, but not on the next, achieving the break that was enough for him to take another step in his current progression and finally fight for his first 'Grand Slam' title.