Sinner beats Rublev to face Djokovic in Australian Open semi-final

The Australian Open is nearing its home stretch and the draw for the semi-finals is already over. Jannik Sinner, 22-year-old Italian tennis player, put his name on the honor roll of the competition’s top four after beating Russian Andrey Rublev 6-4, 7-6 (5), 6-3. in a match that lasted two hours and 39 minutes. On the other hand, in the early hours of this Tuesday, Novak Djokovic started the day with a hard-fought 7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 victory over American Taylor Fritz. in just under four hours. With the respective triumphs of both athletes, the first key to the best four round was sealed for Thursday the 25th.

The Italian racket was one of the great figures of this Grand Slam played in Melbourne. Despite his young age, he already appears to be a confirmed athlete on the ATP circuit, positioning himself in the fourth place among the best in the world with 6,490 official points . His performance in the tournament confirmed this top 5 label: Sinner won all his matches without conceding a single set. .

With his victory against the Russian (5th in the ranking), the one born in San Cándido becomes second Italian to reach Australian semi-final after what was achieved by Matteo Berrettini in the 2022 edition. In addition, This is the seventh time an athlete from this country has managed to appear in a top-four round on more than one occasion. .

In the duel, Sinner was confident in his abilities and responded to all exchanges from Rublev who also showed the cannon he has on his right arm. With 34 winners, eight breaking points saved and a return to the decisive game of the second set (1-5) the Italian showed that the move to the next phase had his first and last name.

“When we changed sides, I was only thinking about the next point, it was very close, and these moments of pressure are what I like to play and especially make it aggressive. It’s very hard to play against Andrey , but I knew how to react, I served well on break points and I’m happy and I appreciate having won.” » declared the world number four once his attack was over.

On the other hand, Novak Djokovic once again entered this stage of his favorite competition. The Serbian, who won Australian Open on 10 occasions, he is aiming for his eleventh victory in precisely 11 appearances in the semi-finals . Nole opened the day this Tuesday in men’s tennis with his quarter-final match against North American Taylor Fritz (12th in the ATP rankings). Despite the 8-0 record in favor of the world number one, the Californian showed signs of revenge and fought evenly for much of the match, reaching two set points in the first set which were saved by Djokovic, who then finished by winning the tiebreaker 7-3.

In the second set, the American was more efficient and controlled the pace. In fact, he broke twice and put the early lead in his favor with a solid 6-4. However, in the next two sets, the 24-time Grand Slam champion brought out his entire category and resisted his rival’s attacks with hierarchy and resilience. With a comfortable 6-2 in the third set, the experienced tennis player completed the task with a 6-3 which sealed his ticket to the next instance.

“I suffered a lot during the first two sets, I was suffocating from the baseline, I was on my heels during every rally, and it was very hot. Physically it was very hard, emotionally too. Nole said on the match broadcast.

With its victory, the Balkan continues to write history: He became the second player to reach the most semi-finals in Melbourne, behind the 15 achieved by Federer. . Furthermore, no one had qualified for as many Grand Slam semi-finals as Djokovic with his 48 appearances (the Swiss second with 46 and Rafael Nadal with 38).

Jannik Sinner’s challenge against Novak Djokovic for a place in the tournament final is a story both have experienced in the past. This will be the seventh face-to-face and the Serbian leads the history of Head2Head by 4-2. . Between these crashes The Italian’s victory in November last year in the Davis Cup semi-finals is remarkable. and the final of the Nitto ATP Finals 2023, where Djokovic gave the tano the only defeat of the nine direct confrontations that Sinner had against players belonging to the Top 5 of the circuit . Jannik now has a record of 12 wins and 20 losses against players ranked in the top five.

Regarding the vital duel that awaits him, the young representative of Italy commented on the duel which will pit him against the best tennis player on the planet. “I have the chance to play against Djokovic in one of the most important tournaments in the world. It will be tough, the only thing I can control is that I will give 100% and fight for every ball. he said.

For his part, the coach led by the Croatian Goran Ivanisevic spoke of the risk represented by the duel with Sinner for the 33 matches without defeat that he has accumulated on ocean soil. “I’m aware of the streak I’m on and the number of matches I’ve won in my career at Rod Laver Arena. I don’t want to let him escape. The longer the sequence, the more confidence I will have. The same thing will happen with expectations, but my motivation to put in that extra effort will increase. hill.

The date of the match between these tennis giants will be Thursday January 25 in one of the most promising heads-ups of recent times majors.