Courtesy of a masterclass on return and when serving, Jannik Sinner navigated tennis’ version of Mission Impossible to progress to his maiden grand slam final in Melbourne.
The Italian sensation managed to out-Djokovic the King of Melbourne Park in Novak Djokovic when completely outplaying the Serbian champion 6-1 6-2 6-7 (6) 6-3 on Friday.
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No man has returned better than Djokovic, the 24-time major winner. And in an extraordinary career, the dethroned 10-time Australian Open champion has made his serve a weapon.
On Rod Laver Arena, Djokovic made champions including Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray look mediocre at times when pinging returns to within an inch of the baseline.
Sinner, who practised with Djokovic as a teenager and sought his advice after a loss in their first meeting in Monte Carlo less than three hours ago, was incredible when returning.
The Italian managed to return 48 of the 50 serves Djokovic directed to his forehand wing during the match, including a perfect 100 per cent strike rate from the advantage court.
On big points, it was almost as if he was sitting on the forehand, awaiting the world No. 1 to direct the ball there more frequently than not. And it proved critical in the four set victory.
Sinner was again impregnable on serve. The 22-year-old is not the biggest serve in tennis. But he is remarkably precise and has fashioned a superb flat serve to the backhand court.
The most extraordinary aspect of his triumph over Djokovic, who to reiterate is unbelievable when returning serve, is that he did not hold a single break point throughout the semifinal.
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Djokovic later said he could not remember playing a worse match in a grand slam. That may be true. But he also pointed out that he was completely outplayed by his younger rival.
“That (break point) stat says a lot. First of all, he was serving very accurately and precisely and he was backing his serve very well. It is hard to describe everything,” Djokovic said.
“He was very dominant on his service games. And if you serve well and you don’t face a breakpoint, it plays with the mind of your opponent. Congrats to him. He just played a flawless match.
“His serve has improved a lot. He is hitting his corners very well. I think he has upped his speed as well.”
The Italian leads all-comers this tournament when it comes to service games won at 98 per cent, claiming 86 of the 88 he has played.
Against Andrey Rublev in the quarterfinals, he saved all eight break points. Against Karen Khachanov in the 4th Rd, he saved all but one from the ten that he faced. Botic van de Zandschulp can lay claim to being the only other man to manage to break his serve so far.
The Serbian also possesses exceptional endurance, as proven in his grand slam record over nearly two decades. But a key has been his ability to finish points quickly.
Yet against Sinner, he was mauled in rallies lasting fewer than four shots, winning just 51 of the 133 points played that fell into that category. It was an annihilation in that respect.
What cannot be measured by statistics is the importance of the two victories in three outings Sinner posted against the legend during three significant matches in November.
Throughout the entirety of the semi-final, including the third set which Djokovic managed to claim after saving a match point, Sinner never looked ruffled at any stage.
The Italian knew he could go with his rival. And it was also a rare match, particularly at Melbourne Park, where Djokovic never looked to hold the upper-hand at any stage.
“It gives you a better feeling when you feel you can beat a player,” Sinner said.
“For me, it was a huge privilege to play against him in November three times in ten days. I just tried to play as relaxed as possible while also having the right game plan in mind.”
Maturity is clearly a factor in Sinner’s ascension.
But Djokovic pointed to the influence of Australian coach Darren Cahill, who guided Andre Agassi, Lleyton Hewitt and Simona Halep to world No. 1, as a factor in Sinner’s progression from a talented thrasher to complete player.
The Australian Open is still to be won. And despite his scintillating form, Sinner has a mountain to climb given both the stage and his record against the two remaining rivals.
Daniil Medvedev, the 2021 US Open champion, has won six of their nine career outings, but there is a caveat there, for the Italian has claimed the past three dating, all in recent months.
And Zverev has won four of their past five outings, including a Rd of 16 match at the US Open in September which went the distance.
“The tournament is not over. It is not that you win the tournament like this. I am looking forward to Sunday. Let’s see what will (happen) on Sunday,” Sinner said.
But as Djokovic will attest, the Italian appears a vastly superior player from even September, stating “it’s coming together for him”.
“Of course Darren Cahill, who is a very experienced coach and someone that has worked with former No. 1s in the world, obviously having him in his corner is very helpful from the mental side of things, of course, along with everything else,” he said.
“He’s got a great team. He’s on a very good path. He’s going to have a chance in (a) couple (of) days to win his first grand slam.”
