Novak Djokovic thanked his doubters for helping to give him strength after he produced an incredible performance to beat Jannik Sinner, the No. 2 and two-time defending champion, 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 to reach the final of the Australian Open.
Djokovic, the fourth seed, will contest his 11th Australian Open final and 38th grand slam final overall on Sunday, his first since winning the US Open in September 2023. At 38 years old, he is the oldest Australian Open men’s finalist in history.
“I never stopped believing in myself,” he said. “There are many people who doubt me. I see that suddenly there are many experts who wanted me to retire or have retired many times in recent years.
“I want to thank them all because they gave me strength. They gave me the motivation to prove them wrong, and I got that tonight. It’s no surprise to me, to be honest. I know what I’m capable of.”
It took a superlative performance from the Serb to defeat Sinner, who has become one of the two dominant forces in men’s tennis alongside Carlos Alcaraz. Djokovic played daring, attacking tennis, stripped off his forehand, served brilliantly in the important moments and matched the Italian’s physicality despite being 14 years older than his rival.
“I wouldn’t dare mention it [my] best ever [victory] but definitely the best in recent years,” said Djokovic. “Under the conditions and the semi-finals against Sinner, who has played the best tennis of his life in recent years, especially here… the two-time defending champion, [it] doesn’t get any better than this.
“Honestly, when I started my preparations for the new season and set the goals, it’s no secret that Grand Slams are the place where I want to play my best tennis. But it’s becoming, I think, more difficult for me to motivate myself, and I ask myself questions. ‘Okay, what is it that I look for from myself?’ I imagined myself playing against Jannik and Carlos [Alcaraz] in the final stages of the grand slams this year and fighting it and really giving it everything I’ve got.
“So very happy that I have already achieved it in the first slam of the year. So yes, a big victory. Very proud. Very happy. Also very relieved, because it was physically very demanding and grueling.”
Djokovic will next face No. 1 seed Alcaraz after the Spaniard survived his own five-set epic against third seed Alexander Zverev: “I know I have to come back in a few days and fight the world No. 1,” Djokovic said. “I just hope I have enough gas to keep up with him. That’s my wish, and then let the gods decide the winner.”
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