Friday’s match between Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner sounds more like a final than a semi-final. The two players will find themselves opposing each other again on the Melbourne courts: fourth match in the last two months, after two matches at the ATP Finals in Turin (one won and one lost by the Serbian) and the match at the Davis Cup, in Malaga, won by the blue .
The South Tyrolean reaches the semi-finals of the Australian Open without having ever lost a set, after clearly beating the Russian Andrey Rublev. The world number one, however, reaches the semifinals after beating Taylor Fritz 7-6 4-6 6-2 6-3. The last defeat at the Australian Open dates back to four years ago, thanks to Hyeon Chung, who had just won the Next Gen Finals at the time. Since then, there had been 32 consecutive victories at Melbourne Park, 21 of which without giving up a set. The 33rd came right against Fritz. Sinner has never reached the semi-finals at the Australian Open; Djokovic has never lost a semifinal in the Slam where he has triumphed more.
The South Tyrolean signed the first career victory over a Top 5 in a Slam and thus became the second Italian to reach the semi-final in Melbourne after Matteo Berrettini in 2022, the seventh to play at least two semi-finals in Slams.
Photo in © Brigitte Grassotti
2024-01-23 19:31:00
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