Jannik Sinner joins Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal in exclusive tennis list with win over Novak Djokovic at Australian Open 2024

The Italian also beat World No.1 Djokovic in the Davis Cup and ATP Finals last year.

World No.4 Jannik Sinner joined an exclusive club with his semi-final win against defending champion Novak Djokovic at Australian Open 2024. The top seeded Djokovic succumbed at the hands of his Italian rival in an exciting four-set encounter. With this victory Jannik ended Djoker’s 33-match winning streak at the Australian Open.

Moreover, this victory also meant that Novak lost his first ever semi-final at the Australian Open. On top of it, it also guarantees a new Australian Open champion for the first time since Stan Wawrinka in 2014. Until Sinner’s victory over Novak Djokovic, only two players had been able to upstage the Serbian in the big three events in tennis (Grand Slams, Davis Cup and ATP Finals).

Players to beat Novak Djokovic at Grand Slam, Davis Cup, and ATP Finals level:– Roger Federer– Rafael Nadal– JANNIK SINNER pic.twitter.com/s12ciAFKxc

— Bastien Fachan (@BastienFachan) January 26, 2024

Apart from the Italian, the other two are Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal respectively. No one other than them has ever come close to putting even a blemish on Novak’s impressive record at the Grand Slams. More so at the Australian Open where he is all-time leading winner in men’s singles. Djokovic has won back-to-back four Grand Slam trophies right from 2019 to 2023.

For those unaware, the Belgrade native was not allowed to participate in the 2022 Australian Open due to his vaccination status otherwise there was a good chance of making that five consecutive titles.

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So, Sinner’s fiery streak of display in Novak’s backyard was a thing of beauty. The Italian literally outplayed Novak in the first two sets with little resistance. However, the Serbian came back strong in the third set capturing it in the tiebreaker rounds that too was closely contested.

The Djoker fans might have thought that this was the turnaround they were looking for. The 10-time Australian Open winner would surely now come back and steal a victory right under the Italian’s nose.

Unfortunately, that was not to be. Sinner quickly flicked away the hopes with his impressive array of shots. The Italian had not dropped a set at this year’s Australian Open till now and losing one against Novak definitely lit a fire in his belly.

Jannik Sinner, with the help of some powerful forehand shots and backhands really put Djoker under pressure. Even his dropshots were giving Novak problems. The ending seemed inevitable at this point in time and with a brilliant forehand shot Jannik made the curtain call to the game.

The final scoreline read 6-1,6-2,6-7,6-3 as the Italian basked in the adulation from the crowd. In the final, Sinner will go up against third seed Daniil Medvedev. Melbourne Park will get ready to crown a new champion.

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