Sinner’s Djokovic dismantling in Melbourne feels like significant shift towards new era in men’s tennis

The idea of the changing of the guard in men’s tennis has been a hot topic for at least five years, yet Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal and mostly Novak Djokovic continued to defy the odds.

But after Djokovic’s semi-final loss at the 2024 Australian Open on Friday, where he was taken down by brilliant Italian Jannik Sinner in four sets 6-1 6-2 6-7(6) 6-3, it really does feel like a seismic shift.

The Serbian No 1 seed has won 24 Grand Slam singles titles and was in search of a record 25th at a venue where he has enjoyed his most success. But his fortnight in Melbourne was a constant struggle to find his best form.

Defeat also means the end of Djokovic’s final realistic quest to win the “Golden Slam” — all four Grand Slams and the Olympics — in the same year. Djokovic will be 40 in 2028 when the Olympics take place in Los Angeles.

Djokovic won three of the four Grand Slam singles titles last year, only losing the final at Wimbledon to another superb youngster in Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz.

Having won the first two 2023 Grand Slams before losing at Wimbledon, Djokovic’s loss didn’t feel like the passing of the baton. It felt more like a minor setback, and so it proved.

Djokovic bounced back from losing at Wimbledon to win the US Open and also the season-ending ATP Finals. It was a show of force to the youngsters that he was still the alpha on tour.

Yet, only a few months on, this Sinner defeat at the Rod Laver Arena poses a far more immediate question — is the era of the ‘big three’ finally over?

Novak Djokovic congratulates Jannik Sinner. (Photo: EPA-EFE/Joel Carrett)

Significant loss

Djokovic losing at the semi-final stage in Melbourne, where he had not lost since 2018 — 2,195 days — on a court that he has dominated to almost the same levels as Nadal dominates at Roland Garros, felt significant.

Djokovic at 36, looked his age for the first time at stages during the tournament. He laboured to two four-set wins in the first two rounds, and was pushed hard by Taylor Fritz in the quarterfinals in a match that also lasted four sets.

But the old warrior always found a way. His tungsten-like mentality was virtually impenetrable, even if his body was less bullet-proof.

However, against the 22-year-old Sinner, Djokovic looked like a fading force — especially in the first two sets.

Sinner’s immaculate serving, his movement and punishing groundstrokes, especially his glorious backhand, reduced Djokovic to a mere mortal for the better part of the opening 90 minutes.

Novak Djokovic in action against Jannik Sinner. (Photo: EPA-EFE/James Ross)

Terrifying no more

The Serbian great picked up only three games in the first two sets. But being the fighter he is, in the third set Djokovic came from a breakdown, saved a match point and won a tight tiebreaker 8-6 to force the match into a fourth set.

It was the kind of flex that usually makes opponents wilt as Djokovic rises like a terrifying tennis Terminator refusing to die.

Sinner, who has not only improved his game, especially his serve, but also his mentality, never blinked. He shrugged off missing the chance to close the match out in the third set, with a dominant display in the fourth.

Sinner broke Djokovic in game four of the set, when the Serb made a backhand error, one of 54 unforced errors in the match.

The Italian coldly served his way to the end, never giving Djokovic even the slightest look-in. When it was over, the stats showed that Djokovic did not have a single break point in the match.

That was a remarkable stat. Djokovic is easily the best return-of-serve exponent the sport has ever known. Playing on his favourite court, in his favourite Grand Slam, which had yielded 10 previous titles and a 33-match winning streak going into the Sinner clash, Djokovic did not have a look at a breakpoint? Astonishing.

In fact, he won only 25% of receiving points off the Sinner serve. By contrast, Sinner won 36% on Djokovic’s serve.

“He outplayed me completely today,” Djokovic said. “I was shocked with my level in a bad way. Not much that I was doing right... This is one of the worst Grand Slam matches I have played, that I can remember.

“At the same time, credit to him for doing everything better than me in every aspect of the game.”

But Djokovic was defiant: “Let's see what happens in the rest of the season,” he said. “I still have high hopes for other Slams, Olympics, and whatever tournaments that I'll play. This tournament hasn't been up to my standard but that doesn't necessarily mean that it's beginning of the end.

“I definitely have a lot to be very proud of in terms of what I have achieved here. The streak was going to end one day. It was going to happen, and at least I gave everything I possibly can under circumstances where I didn't play well.

“I just hope that I'll get a chance to come back to play at least another time and go through the emotions once more.”

Jannik Sinner played near flawless tennis against Djokovic. (Photo: EPA-EFE/Joel Carrett)

Sinner time

Not having to defend a break point underlined Sinner’s brilliant serving, but perhaps it also subtly indicated that Djokovic’s reflexes and athleticism might just have been marginally off. His own comments seemed to suggest he was struggling.

Only time will tell as the season unfolds, whether this was the first real sign of a terminal Djokovic decline, or just another Wimbledon-like blip. He can’t resist time and age, as well as the rise of new players such as Sinner and Alcaraz, forever.

It was also the second time in their last three meetings that Sinner has beaten Djokovic, which included in the group stages of the ATP Finals at the Davis Cup, both at the end of 2023. In the latter match, Sinner saved match points.

The Italian also lost a five-set thriller against Djokovic in the 2022 Wimbledon quarterfinal and went down in straight sets to the Serb in the semi-finals at Wimbledon last year.

All those battles and defeats against the best have produced a stronger player and Sinner is primed to win his first Grand Slams against either Daniil Medvedev or Alexander Zverev (who were playing the second semi in Melbourne at the time of publishing).

Sinner has now won 19 of his past 20 matches dating back to October, though his streak of 17 consecutive sets won at this Australian Open came to an end.

“Awesome. I don’t know what to say really. I came here after a couple of exhibition matches at Kooyong and came here as prepared as possible,” Sinner said.

“The confidence from the end of last year has for sure kept the belief that I can play against the best players in the world and I’m really happy that I can play Sunday, my first [Grand Slam] final.”

At 22, Sinner is the youngest finalist at the Australian since 2008 when Djokovic won the first of his 10 titles at the same age.

“I have the belief that I can play the best players in the world,” Sinner said. “On Sunday, I’m in my first final. Let’s see how it goes. I’m really happy, I’ll come here with a smile and try my best.

“I’ll watch it (the next semi-final) for sure, I’m a huge tennis fan. I’m a bit more relaxed now. They’re such incredible players and have played so many times. It’s going to be really interesting.” DM