By Shrivathsa Sridhar
MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Jannik Sinner downed defending champion Novak Djokovic 6-1 6-2 6-7(6) 6-3 at the Australian Open on Friday to hand the top seed a first defeat at his Melbourne Park fortress in six years and power into his maiden Grand Slam final.
Fourth seed Sinner stunned Djokovic twice in three matches at the end of last season and he made a rollicking start on Rod Laver Arena by targeting his 36-year-old opponent’s shaky serve and error-prone backhand to comfortably win the opening set.
Djokovic had not lost at his favourite stomping ground since the 2018 edition when he crashed to South Korean Chung Hyeon and there were worrying signs for the 10-times Australian Open champion as the 22-year-old Sinner roared through the next set with a double break.
The Sinner tsunami showed no signs of subsiding in the third set but Djokovic raised his game to stay firm until the tiebreak where the Italian squandered a match point at 6-5 by hitting a forehand into the net to give his opponent a lifeline.
Djokovic claimed the next three points to pull a set back to draw loud cheers, but Sinner broke for a 3-1 lead in the fourth set and ran away with the match to snap the Serb’s 33-match winning run at Melbourne Park and end his quest for a record 25th major.
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Melbourne; Editing by Michael Perry)
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