The oldest player to reach the final of the Australian Open will face the youngest to make all four Slams.
I know I have to come back in a few days and fight number one. I just hope I have enough gas to stay in touch with him Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic, 39 in May, earned his right to face 22-year-old Carlos Alcaraz by beating reigning champion Jannik Sinner 6-3 3-6 6-4 4-6 4-6 in the early hours of local time over four hours and nine minutes.
And Djokovic, aiming for a record 25th Grand Slam that might justify the title GOATOVIC, declared: “Let God decide the winner.”
It followed that Alcaraz had a titanic battle lasting five and a half hours and five sets to defeat Alexander Zverev in the first semi-final showdown.
The duopoly of Alcaraz and Sinner had both won the last EIGHT majors.
And Djokovic maintains the belief he held at the last US Open that breaking it is “not impossible”.
The Serbian, with his first win over Sinner in six meetings, said: “I said they played at a different level; I just have to find that level.
“I saw Alcaraz against Zverev, what an incredible match. We tried to match that intensity. I think you (the spectators) got their money’s worth on the tickets, that’s for sure. I want 10 percent of the tickets sold tonight!”
“I saw Carlos [Alcaraz] after the match he said sorry for delaying the start of our match. I told him I’m an old man and I have to go to sleep early!
“I’m looking forward to seeing him in a few days.
(Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)
“I know I have to come back in a few days and fight the number one. I just hope I have enough gas to keep fighting him.”
Ten-time winner Djokovic compared his marathon over Italy’s world number 2 Sinner, going for a consecutive hat-trick of crowns, to his epic against Rafa Nadal 14 years ago.
He said: “It feels surreal, playing for over four hours, it’s almost two in the morning. I think back to 2012 when I played Rafa [Nadal] in the final – That was almost six hours, but the intensity and quality of the tennis was extremely high and that was the only chance I had against him.
“He had won the last five matches against me. He had my mobile number, so I had to change my number for tonight!”
“Jokes aside, I told him at the next meeting, ‘Thank you for at least giving me one. I have enormous respect for him; he is an incredible player and pushes you to the limit. He deserves a round of applause for his performance.’
“Some legends stayed up until 2am, thank you for being here tonight and for the support. You were incredible. I love our passionate relationship.”
“Tonight was one of, if not the best evenings in terms of atmosphere and support that I have ever had in Australia. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
Whatever the end result, we were assured of a story that would see Sinner chasing his third Melbourne title and Djokovic aiming to become the first player – man or woman – to win a 25th Grand Slam singles title.
There was also the question of how the match would compare to the warm-up in which Alcaraz reached his first Happy Slam final with that lengthy thriller against German world number 3 Zverev.
It seemed like a slow burner. Djokovic was on course to reach his 38th major final but had undercooked the last four, having played just two sets in his previous two rounds (he was given a bye in the last 16 when Jakob Mesnik withdrew with an injury before Lorenzo Musetti retired with a thigh problem 6-4 6-3 for the better).
Jannik Sinner says goodbye to his title
(Photo by Izhar Khan/AFP via Getty Images)
As the Serbian shook off the rust, his Italian opponent took advantage of an early break as he attempted to become the first player to beat Djokovic in six consecutive matches at tour level. Djokovic had a point for a break at 3-1, which came and went and Sinner took the set.
Djokovic, 14 years older than Sinner, managed to find a way to shorten the long rallies his opponent had dominated by increasing his pace and power. He got an early break in the second set and held serve despite struggling to level the match in a few games.
Ten-time champion Djokovic was believed to want to keep the momentum going, but when you’ve got to go, you’ve got to go and he took a seven-and-a-half-minute consolation break.
And he appeared to be struggling physically as the third set progressed, breathing deeply while holding his chest and showing pain on his face.
(Cynics hinted at how they had seen open fear from the Serb during matches he eventually won).
But Djokovic – in his 21st Australian Open – stayed in the set against an opponent who showed little emotion.
Ultimately, Sinner secured three set points on the Serb’s serve and claimed a 2-1 lead.
But Dokovic proved he was still on the right track and, while all the ailments didn’t seem to bother him, he stunned Sinner by breaking the Italian in the fourth set, with the title holder making unforced errors. The Serbian served big and consistently while his opponent struggled.
Sinner suffered further as Djokovic dominated with his return as part of a strong arsenal.
But it looked like Sinner might have regained the initiative as he held on for two points to break back in the eighth game of the set. But Djokovic remained calm and held his ground.
And two games later he had leveled the match. He secured two set points. Sinner hit two winners to save them, before the Serb made it two sets in total.
Could Djokovic’s aging limbs give out for the 24-year-old world number 1 in the decider?
The Serbian answered such doubts by keeping his form, serving and returning brilliantly, with Sinner eventually succumbing.
Djokovic spread his arms wide before dropping to his knees as a Sinner backhand crosscourt drifted wide. The victory was his and the Rod Laver Arena erupted.
Many had tipped Sinner to win comfortably in straight sets.
But Djokovic proved that you should never underestimate a legendary player who had managed to win 101 tournaments in the most brilliant career.
Time waits for no one we know, but when you’re someone who has survived growing up in a war-torn country to be part of an era rated as the best tennis has ever known and is as motivated as when he first stepped on a tennis court, it seems you have the ability to defy it.
Contemporary rivals such as Nadal, Roger Federer and even Britain’s Andy Murray have retired. But not Djokovic.
Pat Cash, the 1987 Wimbledon champion, said on the BBC: “It’s hard to put it all into words. Great service from Djokovic, it kept him in the match so many times.”
“Sinner just couldn’t break; his break percentage was ridiculously low for him. Sometimes you have those matches where you can’t break and then it plays in your head.”
Sinner threw everything at him in the fifth set; he came out swinging much harder and it looked like his set. Djokovic kept at it and it was like the Djokovic of old.
We saw it here last year, he beat Alcaraz – will it be the same? Can his body recover? I don’t think that’s his concern at the moment, he’s just happy to make it to the final.
Novak Djokovic relaxes after upsetting the rankings
(Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
Award-winning sports journalist Mike Donovan has been writing about tennis for almost 40 years, citing Andy Murray’s historic victory at Wimbledon in 2013, the first by a Briton in 77 years, as highlights, along with reporting on a Davis Cup match in Bucharest shortly after the assassination of Romanian leader Nicolae Ceausescu, plus electronically submitting reports on the 1990 US Open won by teenager Pete Sampras for the pioneering Today newspaper. He is also an author and has written several Tottenham Hotspur-related books, the latest being Danny Blanchflower: A Glorious Life: The Authorized 100th Anniversary Biography of a Global Football Icon, which will be published on Pitch in March. Blanchflower is a monumental figure in Spurs history and was voted World X1 Champion at the World Cup.
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