As Novak Djokovic turned his attention to his latest confrontation with Jannik sinnerhe heard something that would end up turning everything upside down Australian Open upside down. At the post-match press conference following his quarter-final with Lorenzo Musetti, where Djokovic admitted he was preparing to return home before the Italian retired injured after two setshe bristled at the phrasing of a question that asked him to compare how he felt “chasing” Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal early in his career to how he feels now, with Carlos Alcaraz and Sinner dominant.
Djokovic stopped. The phrasing of the question, he said, was “disrespectful” by leaving out the intervening decade in which he had been the dominant force. Suddenly he had this fire in his eyes. “I will fight until the last shot, until the last point, and do my best to challenge them,” Djokovic said.
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Two nights later, around 2 a.m. in Melbourne, Djokovic rose to the challenge with a vintage performance, and one of the victories of his career, by dethroning Australian Open champion Sinner 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 in four hours and nine minutes. Djokovic had lost five matches in a row against Sinner and, in losing two sets to fellow No. 2 seed Musetti on Wednesday, he seemed so far from the strength that would be needed to overturn what was perhaps the longest pre-match odds he had ever faced. Djokovic, however, was not waving the white flag.
Djokovic ended his five-game losing streak against Sinner in the semifinals (Getty)
“A lot of people doubt me,” he later said. “I see that suddenly there are a lot of experts who wanted to retire me or who retired me several times in the last few years. You know, I want to thank them all, because they gave me strength. They gave me the motivation to prove them wrong, which I did tonight. For me, it’s not a surprise, to be honest.”
Becoming the oldest Australian Open finalist of all time, at 38, Djokovic will aim for a record 25 Grand Slam singles titles on Sunday against world number one Alcaraz, 18 months after his previous Grand Slam final where he lost in straight sets to the Spaniard at Wimbledon. Last season, coming out of the four Grand Slam tournaments in the semi-finals, one could wonder why Djokovic persisted in his quest for a 25th place. After it was demolished by Alcaraz at the US Open in September, he admitted that Alcaraz and Sinner were “so good” and that beating them in a best-of-five would be “very, very difficult”.
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But above all, “it’s not impossible”.
“I said they were playing at a different level, so I just had to find that level,” Djokovic remarked on court. In ending the Alcaraz-Sinner duopoly of Grand Slam finals, stopping their streak of consecutive finals at three, Djokovic was at a loss for words as members of his team cried in the coaches’ box. When asked if he was in a position to challenge for the record Grand Slam titles, he replied: “Honestly, I feel like I’m already winning tonight.”
For the Serbian, the performance he found, at this stage of the tournament, was sufficient. He had a lucky break when his fourth round opponent Jakub Mensik out due to injury last week, giving Djokovic a victory. He was then “extremely lucky” when Musetti suddenly withdrew after two sets in the quarter-finals, struck down by a leg injury. It was an undeniable boost. As he explained almost six months ago in New York, to have a chance against the world’s best, Djokovic had to be fresh and ready to go the distance.
Djokovic fell to his knees while celebrating his victory over Sinner (AFP/Getty)
It went from two sets to one and Sinner moved closer to a 20th straight tournament victory. Earlier in the third set, Djokovic was panting heavily between points, at one point covering his face with his towel. Yet Djokovic never lost sight of Sinner. His serve was as crisp and precise as it had been in years. His forehand speed has been significantly increased, reminiscent of his run three years ago when he won his 10th Australian Open title. The key to victory was Djokovic’s defiance on break points, saving 16 of the 18 he faced. “He won the last five matches against me. He had my number, so I had to change my number for tonight,” Djokovic said. He became bigger than ever.
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And now, in Sunday’s final, an opponent awaits him who is also on the cusp of history after his own epic. On an all-time men’s semi-final day at Melbourne Park, Alcaraz advanced to his first final in defeat third seed Alexander Zverev in five hours and 27 minutes, the third longest match in tournament history. The Spaniard will aim to achieve the career Grand Slam against Djokovic, with the chance to become the youngest man ever to complete the set. However, the youngster, aged 22, will have to recover from his own marathon after in physical difficulty before his response.
Alcaraz won both of his Grand Slam finals at Wimbledon. Yet in the final of the 2024 Olympics, Djokovic produced an exceptional effort against Alcaraz to win his elusive gold medal in Paris. Turns out it wasn’t his last fight after all. “I have to come back in a few days and fight the world number one,” said Djokovic, who has never lost an Australian Open final in 10 previous appearances. “I just hope I have enough essence to face him. That’s my desire, and then let the gods decide the winner.”
