Not often does a player beat Novak Djokovic at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne during the Australian Open. In fact, the Serbian ace was gunning for his 11th title at a venue where he has so often looked unbeatable.
If a change was needed, and if someone had to give the men’s game an electric shock, only Jannik Sinner could have done it. This was one of the biggest of all upsets seen in Melbourne, and Sinner, the Italian, deserves all the credit for coming out smoking with his refreshing brand of tennis. It took him three hours and 22 minutes to prevail 6-1, 6-2, 6-7 (6-8), 6-3 win in the first semi-final on Friday.
They said that Djokovic couldn’t be touched in Melbourne. After all, he was gunning for a new record as well, an unprecedented 25th Grand Slam title – currently, he’s tied on 24 with Australia’s own Margaret Court.
On Australia Day, a big celebration like Republic Day in India, Sinner was on song. He is tall, six feet and two inches. He has the wing span of a jumbo jet. And whenin flight on court, that wingspan looks massive.He can smash winners on either flank with minimum fuss as he covers the court as if on wheels.
Big airplanes need to approach a certain speed before they get airborne. Sinner did that in an early sortie to bring down Djokovic, showing such sustained aggression, cool and tempo. Yet, after winning two sets,he blew a match point in the third set tie-break. It’s just the sort of opening Djokovic usually thrives on. But this time, there was no rousing comeback.
Fans were divided. It is not as if all of Australia loves Djokovic. It is also a fact that Melbourne and the tennis fraternity around the world does cheer the underdog. Sinner did bark and bite, and his approach was that of one ready to take every chance against the numero uno.
Watching him serve was a delight. He rifled in nine aces, but what stood out was how he controlled the pattern of play, winning a whopping 83 per cent of the points on his first serve. He was cranking it up, with the tall frame ready to whack the hell out of the fuzzy Dunlop tennis ball. Sinner could recoil, wind up, and belt down an ace at 211km/hr, the fastest of the match. In addition, an average first-serve speed of 198km/hr revealed how just much much pressure he put on Djokovic in the heat of Melbourne.
This fortnight, there has been no stoppage due to the heat rule. But under such an assault, even the redoubtable Djokovic wilted. What was most notable was how he didn’t even get a look in against the Sinner serve – zero break points.
“It was a very tough match,” said Sinner later. “I started off really well. He missed in the first two sets. I felt like he was not feeling that great on court so I just tried to keep pushing.” When the match ended, it was around 8am in Europe.“Great wake up, for folks home,” quipped Sinner.
As for Djokovic, who was clutching at his abdomen at one stage, he has not been a 100 per cent fit. It needed someone like Sinner to show that the world’s best is human and fallible. Yes, Djokovic still has many Grand Slams left in him. Many thought it would be Carlos Alcaraz who would rock Djokovic, as he had in the Wimbledon final last year. Instead, this turned out to be the Sinner story.
Strange? No, that’s sport!
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