The 2024 Australian Open is finally over and fans were treated to some entertaining action-packed tennis which will be remembered for ages. One such match was Jannik Sinner’s men’s singles semi-final match at the Rod Laver Arena. Sinner eventually won the title, defeating Daniil Medvedev in sensational fashion.
But it wasn’t easy for Sinner, who had to face Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals. Regarded as probably the best men’s tennis player in history, Djokovic looked like he would clinch his 11th title in Melbourne but Sinner ended that in devastating manner.
The Italian looked unstoppable as he won the first two sets with ease, taking them 6-1 6-2. Just when it looked like Djokovic was going out, he came up with a stunning fightback, winning the third set in a tie-breaker, 7(8)-6(6).
Fans would have thought that this was the end for Sinner and the beginning for Djokovic. But Sinner had other plans and made sure that the World No. 1 would not get a chance to make a comeback and clinched the fourth set 6-3 to book his berth in the final.
Djokovic was left shocked after his defeat and so were most fans. The pressure was also on Sinner as Djokovic hadn’t lost a single match at the Australian Open since 2018.
Serena Williams’ former coach Patrick Mouratoglou made an interesting observation on Djokovic’s defeat and pointed out his win in the previous match.
“When Djokovic played against Mannarino he was up 6-0, 6-0, 1-0. He played a bad game, and he lost the game,” he said on Tennis Majors’ ‘Eye of the Coach’.
“What struck me was what he said after the match: ‘It was too much pressure to not lose one single game. I had to give away one.’ He didn’t do it on purpose, but he felt the pressure was too big,” he added.
Commenting on Djokovic’s Australian Open record, he stated, “Now, when you think about Novak at the Australian Open, he didn’t lose one match at the Australian Open since 2018. He never lost a semi-final at the Australian Open. He won 10 titles here. In a way, it brought so much pressure. Imagine he would win again, that would be crazy. That’s too much.”
“Of course, he didn’t do it on purpose, for sure not. But subconsciously, he wanted to take it out of the way. ‘OK, let’s lose one. It’s just too much for me. I can’t anymore.’ Kind of the same feeling as the one he had against Mannarino. The fact that he said that against Mannarino makes me feel that there is something there.”
“Even in champions, when it’s too much pressure, sometimes they need to fail. In a way they feel relieved. I would not be surprised if Novak feels relieved after that tournament,” he added.
Against Medvedev in the final, Sinner began on a stuttering note, losing the first two sets 3-6 3-6. When it looked like the Russian was set to win the match, Sinner staged a comeback which even Djokovic couldn’t. The 22-year-old won the next three sets, claiming a famous 3-6 3-6 6-4 6-4 6-3 victory and also his first-ever Grand Slam title.
