Jannik Sinner reveals he feels 'really lucky' to play Novak Djokovic

Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic - Australian Open 2024

January 23, 2024

ATP Tennis Players, Australian Open, Novak Djokovic, Tennis News

Jannik Sinner reveals he feels ‘really lucky’ to play Novak Djokovic in Australian Open Semi-final

Jannik Sinner has achieved his best-ever performance at the Australian Open, beating Andrey Rublev to reach the semi-finals in Melbourne for the first time.

Sinner beat the Russian, 6-4 7-6(5) 6-3, to extend Rublev’s winless run in Grand Slam quarter-finals to 10 matches.

The match finished just before 1:30am in Melbourne, with Sinner glad that he had come through it unscaved, “I appreciate it when it’s over, but it’s obviously very tough to play against him [Rublev]. We had some really tough matches already in the past.”

He continued, “Today was three sets, because I could have lost both the first set – he had so many break points and I served really well somehow. Everything goes so fast and it’s more react[ive], trying to move him more than I do.

“It’s always a huge pleasure to play here on the court. It doesn’t really matter the time. I really appreciate it and am happy to be in the next round.”

Sinner is the only man left in the draw still not to have dropped a set at the Australian Open this year, but was in major trouble of losing that record at 5-1 down in the second set tie-break.

When asked about how he won six consecutive points, the Italian responded with, “I don’t know! At 5-1 we changed ends and it was a little windy so I knew I had a little advantage and I tried to hold serve for 5-2, and somehow breaking him once but I did it twice and then I was 5-4 on serve.

“This is all very tight. Actually, these moments are why I want to play and what I practice for. I’m really excited when we have these pressure points on. I’m just trying to stay aggressive and it went my way today so I’m really happy.”

Semis! #forza @AustralianOpen pic.twitter.com/1NUIR1EN3e
— Jannik Sinner (@janniksin) January 23, 2024

Sinner now faces the toughest test possible at the Australian Open in 10-time champion Novak Djokovic, who has never not won the tournament when reaching the semi-finals.

However, the 22-year-old appears to be looking forward to the contest that will take place on Friday, “I’m really lucky to face Novak again in the biggest tournament in world. I’m happy to play here. The only thing I can control is that I can fight for every ball, then we can see what the outcome will be.”

Inside the baseline…

Jannik Sinner has continued to look very impressive, extending his unbeaten run from last year to eight matches. Although the Italian has never beaten Novak Djokovic at a major before, he will take some confidence from their last meeting at the Davis Cup Finals, where Sinner saved three consecutive match points to comeback and beat the world No.1. In terms of Andrey Rublev’s quarter-final misery continuing, he is clearly more than good enough to reach a semi-final, but just needs a draw to fall in his favour before he inevitably does breakthrough.

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Jannik Sinner vs Novak Djokovic head-to-head

The match between Sinner and Djokovic is debatably the most anticipated match for the entire Australian Open this year, so here are all of their previous meetings on tour:

Sinner vs Djokovic: 2-4