The strength and superiority of Jannik Sinner is clearly shown by the fact that Novak Djokovic, known as perhaps the best receiver in the world, did not even reach a break point once morest him in the entire match.
“Tennis from outside the world” – That’s how Petra Szántó put it sometime in the third set, when she described the Italian’s game. This epithet is more than valid even if Djokovic eventually won that game. But let’s look at it from the beginning.
In the first game, Sinner, who started calmly and sharply, left Djokovic standing, who played tennis slowly but still made a lot of mistakes. We didn’t really expect that either, but even less that the picture of the game would not change one iota in the second set. The Italian was rolling, and the Serbian was as if he wasn’t even on the field.
In the third game, Djokovic reached the operating temperature and leveled the picture of the game, which was also reflected in the result. They went to short, where Sinner also had a match ball, albeit as receiver. However, the Italian made a forehand, and Djokovic closed the match from there and improved.
“It was a very tough match. I started well and he made a lot of mistakes,” said Sinner in the post-match interview. “He didn’t feel good on the court for two sets. The third was close, I missed the match point at the end. That’s tennis. The audience was also fantastic.”
“I prepared a lot for this match. It’s a great challenge to play once morest such a great champion to learn from. Now I was able to go through the process that was needed to win, for which I am grateful.”
Jannik Sinner reached the final in Melbourne by saying goodbye to the world number one and with a fantastic game
Jim Courier asked the Italian regarding what was so good regarding his game that caused trouble for Djokovic, who lost the semi-finals for the first time in his life in Melbourne.
“I think our style of play is similar with Novak. We have to play as many balls as possible, but I don’t want to reveal all the tactical elements. Let’s play some more big games, but this one was special.”
“When I was 17, my coach asked him what I might improve on,” Sinner said when asked regarding Djokovic’s willingness to help youngsters. “He said I might change direction more and I need to improve my serve. And of course there was a lot more.”
“I now believe that I can be competitive even once morest the best. This will be my first GS final, I’m looking forward to it. I’m going to watch the match between Medvedev and Zverev, because I’m a big tennis fan myself. It can be a good match, Sascha is back and Daniil is also playing well. I can be calm now, because I’m in the final.”
Djokovic was asked at the press conference how he can handle the positions when he is as deep as he is now following the first two sets.
“First of all, I congratulate Jannik. He fully deserved to be in the final, he played completely off the court today,” Djokovic began. “I was really shocked by my own quality. There was nothing I did well in the first two games. I can’t remember ever playing this badly in a GS match. Credit goes to Jannik, of course, because he was better than me in everything.”
“I fought, I tried to raise the standard. I played a good shorthand, but then in the fourth set I had another bad game, which I lost once morest the wind.”
“I was not at my best throughout the tournament. Maybe I was only satisfied with myself once morest Mannarino. I was definitely surprised that I started so badly. Of course, the semi-final is not bad, but I always expect the best from myself.”
“He completely ran over me today” – Djokovic was shocked by the quality of his own game
Djokovic was confronted with the fact that this was his first GS match in his life, where he did not even reach a break point.
“That says a lot. He served very accurately and backed up his serve very well with the next shot. I’m not satisfied with my backhands, but neither are I satisfied with my forehands and backhands. He, on the other hand, played a flawless game.”
Djokovic was also asked regarding the next Grand Slam, Roland Garros.
“If Nadal is going to play, he will be the favorite. But Alcaraz and Sinner can be good too. Of course, there are still a few months until then.”
“How has Jannik improved? He hits the ball very well from both sides, plays fast and is very aggressive. His serve is also much better, he targets the corners very well, and his serves are also stronger. His movement is also better overall, and he is stronger mentally. He has a very good team, Darren Cahill is a really routine coach next to him.”
One of the questions was also aimed at his age and aging, Djokovic feels that this is not in his deck yet.
“I still have serious hopes for this season. I don’t think this is the beginning of the end.”
Next up was Sinner, who was asked for the first time if it was different playing Novak following beating him twice at the end of the season last year.
“Of course, it’s a much better feeling when you know you can beat someone,” Sinner began. “It was a big thing for me that I might play once morest him three times at the end of last year. Of course, GS is different mentally, the game plan is also different, but I’m glad that everything worked well today.”
It was suggested why Alcaraz, Rune, and he might be more successful once morest the bigs than previous generations.
“Maybe we believe in ourselves more, which counts a lot. We’re trying to improve in everything we can, that means a lot, and it seems like we’ve made progress.”
Sinner was very calm throughout the match, not even celebrating spectacularly when he closed the match.
“On the one hand, it is a huge thing to beat Novak, especially here, but on the other hand, the tournament is not over yet. The final will be on Sunday, there will be completely different emotions. I didn’t win the tournament, so that might be behind it.”
The missed match ball was also a topic, of course.
“It’s not easy because I was close. But I sat down and made myself aware of the result, which calmed me down, and then I tried to start the set once more at a high level. I concentrated, I brought my serve, and then when I broke it, it felt really good. I’m happy that I was able to close the game.”
“I saw in the first two sets that he wasn’t playing very well, so I tried to keep the intensity. And since it’s him, the world number one, I had to be ready for things to change at any moment.”
When asked regarding patience, he always stressed how important the process he had to go through was.
“Patience is your greatest enemy. If you rush, you might miss some important steps that might make you a better player. The process is still ongoing, there is still room for improvement. But patience really isn’t easy, you have to practice it.”
“Darren is always very calm. It was the same this morning. In such cases, we talk regarding general things, not necessarily regarding tennis. then 20 minutes before the match we discuss the tactics, what and how we should react.”
Amazing statistics. Alcaraz beat Djokovic at Wimbledon 2,195 days following the Serb last lost there. Sinner also beat him exactly the same day later in Melbourne.
“How was this written somewhere? I do not know.”
And how can it be the first GS?
“I’m calm. I know that hard work always pays off. If not now, then next time.”
