Jannik Sinner ended Novak Djokovic's bid for a record 25th Grand Slam title on Friday, snapping the Serb's 33-match winning run at Melbourne Park to set up a final against Daniil Medvedev.
MELBOURNE, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- A new men's champion will be crowned at the Australian Open after fourth seed Jannik Sinner dethroned top-ranked Novak Djokovic and third seed Daniil Medvedev came back from the brink to down No. 6 Alexander Zverev in the semifinals here on Friday.
22-year-old Sinner stormed into his first Grand Slam final after ending Djokovic's long-time dominance in Melbourne with a 6-1, 6-2, 6-7 (6), 6-3 semifinal victory in three hours and 22 minutes.
Sinner was irresistible to inflict 10-time tournament champion Djokovic's first loss at Melbourne Park since 2018.
24-time Grand Slam winner Djokovic had an uncharacteristically sloppy performance with 54 unforced errors to lose for the first time at Melbourne Park after reaching the semifinals.
After his stunning dismissal of Djokovic, Sinner will be fancied against Medvedev as he eyes a Grand Slam coronation.
"I'm really relaxed, to be honest," Sinner said. "I just try to work as hard as possible and in my mind I feel like the hard work always pays off in one way and we are working really hard for our dreams."
Sinner faced a daunting task against Djokovic, who had won 33 straight matches at Melbourne Park. But the Italian steamrolled through a sluggish Djokovic to only lose three games in the first two sets.
He then had to fend off a trademark fightback from Djokovic, who saved a match point in the tiebreak to force a fourth set. It was the first time in the tournament that Sinner had dropped a set.
But Sinner regrouped and clinched the biggest victory of his career with a monstrous forehand winner as he raised his arms aloft and smiled.
Sinner's Grand Slam title quest will go through Medvedev, who reached his third final in Melbourne after staging a miraculous 5-7, 3-6, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5), 6-3 comeback victory over Zverev in four hours and 18 minutes.
"I thought I was tired physically in the third set. I tried to be more aggressive and it started working," Medvedev said.
He has overcome a gruelling campaign having survived three epic five-set matches.
His bid for a second Grand Slam title looked over when he fell down two sets against Emil Ruusuvuori in the second round before digging deep to win a thriller that finished at 3.40am local time.
He also overcame a titanic four-hour quarterfinal with ninth seed Hubert Hurkacz.
It was a bitter disappointment for the big-hitting German after he had stunned No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals.
26-year-old Zverev has been a constant top 10 player since 2017, but a Grand Slam title continues to elude him. He agonizingly fell short at the US Open in 2020 after squandering a two-set lead against Dominic Thiem in the final.
Zverev had unleashed his powerful serve and blistering groundstrokes to run Medvedev ragged and gain a stranglehold with a two-set lead.
He was poised to wrap up a clinical straight sets victory before his game went off the boil as Medvedev pounced to continue his indefatigable run in Melbourne.
Earlier, Hsieh Su-wei and Jan Zielinski beat Desirae Krawczyk and Neal Skupski in the mixed doubles final after a three-set thriller.
On Saturday, China's Zheng Qinwen will be hunting her first Grand Slam title when she plays defending champion Aryna Sabalenka in the women's singles final.
Second seeds Matthew Ebden and Rohan Bopanna will face Italians Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori in the men's doubles final. ■
