Jannik Sinner funnily took out his frustration on a water bottle in the most polite and gentle way after missing out on a chance to close out the match against Novak Djokovic in three sets.
Playing in his first Australian Open semifinal against record 10-time champion Djokovic, 22-year-old Sinner got off to an outstanding start, taking the opening two sets with a 6-1 6-2 scoreline. After easily losing the first two sets, record 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic improved drastically in the third set but Sinner still had a chance to close out the match in three sets.
But leading 6-5 in the third-set tie-break, Sinner dropped the next three points as Djokovic managed to take the match into a fourth set. After failing to convert a match point in the third-set tie-break, a frustrated Sinner picked up one of his water bottles and very softly threw it. Sinner is not a player known for outbursts, meltdowns, antics, or anything like that as many found the Italian’s attempt to take out his frustration on a water bottle as funny.
Sinner on closing out Djokovic in four sets
After losing a tight third set, Sinner had a chance to start the fourth set with an early break but he didn’t convert any of his three break points in the second game. Two games later, Djokovic had a 40-0 on his serve before Sinner impressively won the next five points to break the Serb and open a 3-1 lead in the fourth set.
After breaking Djokovic in the fourth set, Sinner served his way into the Australian Open final.
“It’s not easy, because you are so close and then you, in your mind, is the way is long still. But in the other way, I sat down, I tried to think also that the score was two sets to one for me, so it was positive,” Sinner said in his press conference when asked about bouncing back after losing the third set.
In the fourth set, Jannik Sinner fought back hard against Novak Djokovic with 6-3 win to close out the match and qualify for his first Grand Slam final. With Sinner’s semifinal win against Djokovic, Australian Open will witness new Australian Open champion for the first time since 2014.
Jannik Sinner’s win was Novak Djokovic’s ending of 33-match winning streak at Australian Open. Djokovic remained unbeaten since 2019 (barring 2021) until he faced shock defeat at the hands of Italian tennis star in the semifinal at Melbourne Park this year.
Djokovic equalled Monica Seles’s record for most consecutive match wins in the history of Australian Open. For the first time since 2008, Novak Djokovic failed to qualify for the Final after reaching the semifinal.
Jannik Sinner became the first ever player to defeat Novak Djokovic in the semifinal at Melbourne Major.
The Serbian tennis star currently holds the record for most titles (10) by male player at Australian Open. He is only third after Margaret Court (Australian Open) and Rafael Nadal (French Open) to win 10 titles at a Grand Slam.
In the Australian Open final, Sinner plays against Daniil Medvedev.
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