{"id":440214,"date":"2026-01-31T04:42:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-31T04:42:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/440214\/"},"modified":"2026-01-31T04:42:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-31T04:42:09","slug":"djokovic-beats-sinner-as-history-and-alcaraz-await-in-australian-open-final-tennis-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/440214\/","title":{"rendered":"Djokovic beats Sinner as history and Alcaraz await in Australian Open final | Tennis News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Novak Djokovic stuns reigning two-time champion Jannik Sinner to set up Australian Open final against Carlos Alcaraz.<\/p>\n

Published On 30 Jan 202630 Jan 2026<\/p>\n

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Novak \u200dDjokovic \u200dchannelled his halcyon days in a five-set classic to dethrone Jannik Sinner and become \u2060the oldest man to reach \u200bthe Australian Open final \u200din the professional era at a rocking Rod Laver Arena.<\/p>\n

Four months before his \u200d39th \u2060birthday, Djokovic showed he remains unbeatable on his day as he sent the double defending champion packing with a 3-6 6-3 4-6 6-4 \u200b6-4 win in a 1:32am finish early on Saturday in Melbourne (14:32 GMT on Friday).<\/p>\n

Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list<\/p>\n

\u201cIt feels surreal to be honest, playing over four hours,\u201d Djokovic said on \u200bcourt.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was reminiscing in 2012 when I played Rafa [Nadal] in the final, that was six \u200dhours almost.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe level of intensity and quality was high [against Sinner], and that was the only way to have a chance to win.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe won the last five matches against me, he had my mobile number, so I had to change my \u200dnumber tonight.<\/p>\n

\u201cJokes aside I \u2060said at the net: \u2018Thanks for allowing me at least one\u2019. Tremendous respect, an incredible player. He pushed me to the limit, so he deserves applause for his performance.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"NovakNovak Djokovic of Serbia plays a forehand against Jannik Sinner of Italy [Quinn Rooney\/Getty Images]<\/p>\n

Djokovic will meet world number one Carlos Alcaraz in Sunday\u2019s decider, the Spaniard having fought off Alexander Zverev in the longest Australian Open semifinal<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Eighteen years after his first Melbourne crown, Djokovic will strive for a record-extending 11th against Alcaraz and the unprecedented 25th Grand Slam title that has eluded him.<\/p>\n

Djokovic needed incredible \u200bfortune to reach the semifinals, with his quarterfinal opponent, Lorenzo Musetti, retiring injured \u200cafter taking the first two sets.<\/p>\n

The Serb enjoyed a walkover in the fourth round as well, when Jakub Mensik pulled out.<\/p>\n

But it was hard work and mental toughness that got Djokovic over the line against Sinner, a player who had beaten him in \u200ctheir previous five matches.<\/p>\n

\"JannikJannik Sinner of Italy plays a forehand in the Men\u2019s Singles semifinal at Melbourne Park[Phil Walter\/Getty Images]<\/p>\n

Victory came grudgingly.<\/p>\n

He had to save a slew of break points in the decisive set before finally getting a look at Sinner\u2019s \u200cserve at 3-3.<\/p>\n

Flooring the Italian in three punishing rallies, the Serb \u2060broke him to lead 4-3, raised one fist and threw an icy stare at his player\u2019s box.<\/p>\n

Djokovic had to save another three break points in the next service game, but sent Serbian fans into delirium when he survived them all and held with an \u200cace.<\/p>\n

Serving for the match at 5-4, Djokovic summoned the grit and champion spirit of 20 years at the top, setting up two match points with a forehand winner down the line.<\/p>\n

Sinner saved both, but finally fired \u200da backhand wide to concede, leaving Djokovic to throw away his racket, get down on his knees and cross his chest.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Novak Djokovic stuns reigning two-time champion Jannik Sinner to set up Australian Open final against Carlos Alcaraz. Published…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":440215,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[72],"tags":[1204,1246,3,1079,99,428],"class_list":["post-440214","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tennis","tag-asia-pacific","tag-australia","tag-news","tag-sport","tag-sports","tag-tennis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/440214","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=440214"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/440214\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/440215"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=440214"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=440214"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=440214"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}