Jannik Sinner vs Novak Djokovic: Italian looking to become 3rd player after Roger Federer & Rafael Nadal to beat Serb in ATP Finals, Davis Cup & Slams
Jannik Sinner will be up against World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the semi-final of the Australian Open 2024 men’s singles on Friday, January 26.
If Sinner beats Djokovic on Friday, he would be only the third player to beat the Serb at Grand Slams, ATP Finals and the Davis Cup. Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are the two players to have achieved this feat and Sinner has a chance to join the elite list.
Djokovic has equalled the record for the most successive wins in the history of the hard-court Major at Melbourne Park after he defeated Taylor Fritz 7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 on Wednesday, January 23 at the Rod Laver Arena. The veteran, who is chasing his 11th Australian Open title, is locked on 33 wins with the legendary Monica Seles.
However, beating Sinner may not be a walk in the park for the Serbian star. Out of their six meetings, Sinner has beaten Djokovic two times. In their most recent meeting in the semi-final of the Davis Cup, the 22-year-old beat Djokovic 6-2, 2-6, 7-5.
In Grand Slams, Djokovic has a 2-0 lead over Sinner, having beaten the Italian in the 2022 and 2023 editions of Wimbledon. It remains to be seen if Sinner gets lucky in the third instance.
Jannik Sinner racing past opponents in Australian Open 2024
Sinner has been in stupendous form at the ongoing Australian Open. He is not only beating opponents, but making a statement by thoroughly dominating them. The fact that he has won all his five matches thus far without dropping a set shows how authoritative he has been in the tournament.
On Tuesday, Sinner knocked out Andrey Rublev, who has now lost all his 10 Grand Slam quarterfinals. It took Sinner two hours and 39 minutes to beat Rublev 6-4, 7-6(5), 6-3. With the win, Sinner also qualified for the Australian Open semi-finals for the first time in his career.
Sinner converted two out of his seven break points to dictate terms. Rublev, meanwhile, failed to convert even a single break point opportunity out of eight. Sinner also chipped in with 10 aces and 24 winners.
Before getting the better of Rublev, Sinner beat Botic van de Zandschulp, Jesper de Jong, Sebastian Baez and Karen Khachanov without having to break a sweat.