Novak Djokovic bristles when it is mentioned to him that he is behind Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. “My great rivals were Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. I was not always the pursuer,” he replies, referring to his dominance in terms of figures with respect to the other two members of the ‘Big Three’. Djokovic again claimed the status of the best player in history on Friday after ending Sinner’s resistance, 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 and 6-4, in 4 hours and 9 minutes.
And Djokovic’s presence in the 38th major final, after defeating the defending Italian champion, deserves a statue on the courts of Melbourne Park and in any tennis venue.
The 14-year age difference with the Italian and the 16-year age gap with the Spaniard are a heavy burden for mortals but not for Novak, who will fight on Sunday for his 25th Grand Slam title, the 11th on the blue of the Rod Laver Arena.The recurring question is whether she will lift a major trophy again, which would mean breaking the all-time record she shares with Australia’s Margaret Court.The Australian legend stayed all night in the front row of the central court applauding someone who is on his level. “Thanks for being here,” the Serb thanked him
To find the last time he triumphed on a big stage, you have to go back to the 2023 US Open. It has been 873 days. Carlos Gomez-Herrera, the Spaniard who is part of Novak’s inner circle and could not hold back the tears on the bench, knows it.
The Serbian was honest before starting his journey at the Australian Open: “If there is a Grand Slam in which I have chances, it is this one because it comes at the beginning after the preseason.”
He had lost the last five previous meetings with Sinner, two of them in the semifinals of Roland Garros and Wimbledon 2025. It did not affect him when he came back from two sets to one down or when he closed out the match despite having wasted the first two chances to finish. What Jannik did not count on was his poor percentage of break points: 2 out of 18.
I hope to have enough gas on Sunday and that God decides the winner
Djokovic has given up the last two seasons at the ATP Finals in Turin (he holds the record of seven titles) to have more time to prepare for the major in the Antipodes. He reaches the final with Carlos Alcaraz.
The only one who has won the head-to-head
The veteran Belgrade tennis player is the only player in the top 10 who has a winning record against Carlitos (5-4). “I saw him at the end of the match and he apologised for delaying the start of the second semi-final. I’m an old man and I need to get to bed early,” he joked at the end of the match.
Read the full article here
