The king of the
Melbourne
court against one of the few players to win a match against him in the last six months: the
Australian Open
offers this Thursday night (at 12:30 a.m., after midnight, on ESPN and Star+) a stellar semifinal between
Novak Djokovic
, two wins away from an unprecedented 25th Grand Slam title, and
Jannik Sinner
(4th in the world).
The other semifinal will later face the number 3 in the ranking,
Daniil Medvedev
, against 6 in that ranking, the German
Alexander Zverev
.
It's difficult to explain it better than Radek Stepanek, former Czech player: at the Rod Laver Arena, "Novak (Djokovic) is in his living room.
It's his house
. He feels like home."
All you have to do is turn to the figures to show the evidence.
Djokovic
won the title ten times
in Melbourne.
He hasn't lost there since 2018 and has taken the title in four of the last five editions
.
The only exception: 2022, the year of his bizarre expulsion from Australia for not being vaccinated against covid-19.
Sinner congratulates Djokovic in his last Grand Slam semifinal: it was at Wimbledon 2023 and the Serbian won.
Photo: Adrian DENNIS / AFP.
And when 'Nole' reaches the semi-finals in Australia the trophy systematically ends up in his hands.
Thus, it is presumed difficult to discern the name of who can deprive him of a 25th Grand Slam title, when he is only two games away from achieving it.
At the moment she shares the absolute record of crowning in 'Big' with the Australian Margaret Court.
Sinner, an uncomfortable obstacle for Nole
But his last rival on the way to the final is precisely the only player to have made him bite the dust since Wimbledon and until the end of 2023. And on two occasions;
on November 13, in the group stage of the
Masters
(7-5, 6-7 (5/7), 7-6 (7/2)), and on November 25 in
Davis Cup
(6-2, 2 -6, 7-5).
Between both, the young Italian lost the final of the Masters (6-3, 6-3), although another victory would have to be added, in this case in the Davis doubles that meant the elimination of Serbia at the hands of Italy.
The difference is that tonight in Melbourne he will have to win three sets and not two against the best in history.
In November, Sinner beat Djokovic in singles and doubles in the Davis Cup.
Photo: AP Photo/Manu Fernandez.
Djokovic "has shown on all courts in the world what an immense player he is," says one of Sinner's coaches,
Simone Vagnozzi
.
"It is one of the most difficult challenges in tennis."
But Sinner is no longer the same player who lost in three sets 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (7/4) in his first 'Big' semi-final, at Wimbledon, last season, against Djokovic.
Since then his first title at Masters 1000 (Toronto), titles in Beijing and Vienna, plus his two victories in the space of ten days against 'Djoko' in November.
And a fact about his current situation: the Italian has not given up a single set in this edition in Australia.
Sinner, with high confidence
"His great results in the last six months allow Jannik to enter the track with more confidence. This time he can believe more in a victory," considers Vagnozzi.
"It's a pleasure to face him," says Sinner.
Especially in the later rounds, where things get interesting.
I am anxious.
"That's what I train for, to play against the best players in the world."
"He has only played matches in three sets (even against Rublev and Khachanov), he has not spent too much energy, his tank is still full," estimates Stepanek about the young Italian.
On the other hand, Djokovic is not experiencing his most peaceful Australian fortnight.
Three times out of five he left a set behind, and his previous match lasted 3 hours and 48 minutes, and another, in the first round, had exceeded four hours.
"The interesting thing is that even if he doesn't play well, he wins," says former Swedish player Thomas Johansson.
With information from Agencies