It was coming, but it feels like it came too soon as Novak Djokovic crashed to his first defeat at the Australian Open since 2018, and it was his first loss ever this deep into the Grand Slam event in Melbourne.
The Serb stood no chance against Jannik Sinner, who cruised to a 6-1 6-2 6(6)-7(8) 6-3 defeat at the Rod Laver Arena. The win saw the Italian snap the World No.1's 2196-day Australian Open streak, which also consists of 33 straight wins and four titles in Melbourne.
Also Read | Jannik Sinner reveals how Novak Djokovic shot himself in the foot with three-year-old advice in Australian Open loss
Sinner wrapped up the first and second set with considerable ease, but in the third set, Djokovic made a sudden comeback. Sinner wasted a match point before Djokovic won the tiebreaker 8-6. It must have reminded Sinner of Wimbledon 2022, where after dropping the first two sets, Djokovic beat him.
{{/usCountry}}Sinner wrapped up the first and second set with considerable ease, but in the third set, Djokovic made a sudden comeback. Sinner wasted a match point before Djokovic won the tiebreaker 8-6. It must have reminded Sinner of Wimbledon 2022, where after dropping the first two sets, Djokovic beat him.
{{/usCountry}}But Sinner had other plans and bagged the fourth set with utter domination to book a berth in the final, where he will face either Daniil Medvedev or Alexander Zverev. Djokovic had won all ten semifinals and all 10 finals he had played previously at the Rod Laver Arena.
This was also Sinner's third win in his last four meetings with Djokovic, beating him at the Davis Cup and ATP Finals group stage in November last year. Speaking after the match, Sinner said, "I feel these kind of emotions you cannot control. If someone celebrates in one way, you celebrate because this is the emotion what you are feeling now, no?"
"Obviously it means so much to me to beat Novak here in Melbourne, but in the other way, I know that the tournament is not over. Sunday is a final. It's different emotions, because the final is always different. In my mind today I knew it was the semi-final. It's not that you win the tournament like this. So I'm looking forward to Sunday, and let's see what's coming."