JANNIK Sinner produced an impressive performance today to end Novak Djokovic’s hopes of winning his 11th Australian Open in Melbourne.
The 22-year-old Italian defeated the Serbian great in four sets in the semi-final to reach the final of the men’s singles event, where he will face Danii Medvedev or Alexander Zverev.
World No.1 Djokovic, who beat Dino Prizmic, Alexei Popyrin, Tomas Martin Etcheverry, Adrian Mannarino and Taylor Fritz en route to the semi-final, succumbed to a 6-1, 6-2, 6-7, 6-3 defeat against Sinner in one of the biggest surprises of the competition.
This is his first defeat for Djokovic in Melbourne for 33 matches, dating back to 2018 when he lost to Chung Hyeon in the fourth round.
Having previously won the Australian Open six times, the Serbian cruised to his seventh title in 2019 after beating Rafael Nadal 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 in the final.
Djokovic, 36, won the Australian Open in 2020 and 2021, before failing to compete at the 2022 tournament after disclosing he was not vaccinated against Covid-19.
He was unable to participate after his visa was cancelled twice by Australian Immigration Minister Alex Hawke, with his big rival Nadal going on to win in Melbourne.
However, he returned to Australia last year and won the title again, beating Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final.
Djokovic is the most successful men’s tennis player in the modern era with his 24 Grand Slam titles, two more than Nadal and four more than the legendary Roger Federer.
