A feat by Djokovic, at 38 he beats Sinner and goes to the final in Melbourne

Sensational achievement by Novak Djokovic in Melbourne: the Serbian at 38 years old wins the marathon against Jannik Sinner, the outgoing double champion and 14 years younger with score 3-6 6-3 4-6 6-4 6-4 and qualifies for the 2026 Australian Open final.

The Serbian, never loved by the public who he often rooted against himat 38 years old and now (hypothetically) on the road to decline, this time he had everyone on his side.

Sinner against Nole and the public

Sinner was forced to play against his opponent, alwayscompetitive at the highest levels(also thanks to the fact that he played little in the last matches, taking advantage of a withdrawal before the match in the round of 16 and another, after less than two hours in the quarter-finals by Musetti) who put all his talent on the field. A well-known resilience, unexpected resilience and the courage of a lion.

Sinner starts well and wins the first set rather easily. But thenDjokovic is starting to make no more mistakeswhile the Italian becomes foul. Sinner is cold, at least on the surface, but cheering against him certainly disturbs him. Every point won by the Serbian, both thanks to himself and to an error by Sinner (including a double fault) is welcomed with applause and shouts of joy.

Djokovic’s ‘return’

And so in the second setDjokovic breaks the Italian’s serveand he never loses it again (cancelling several counter-break points), winning 6-3. In the third set it was Sinner, at the end of a long parallel run, who placed the winning move and won the set 6-4. It seems over, but the Serbianhe immediately places his shot in the fourth setbreaking the Italian’s serve and taking the lead 2-0.

As in the second set, this time too the Serbian maintains the advantage until the end, canceling several counter-break points, winning 6-4 andtaking the match to the fifth set.

Fifth set, Sinner’s regrets

And here what you don’t expect happens: Sinner gives up serve at 4-3 and then fails to make the counterbreak despite having three consecutive balls for the 4-4. In the last decisive game Djokovic shows off his last energy and wins the 38th slam final of his incredible career. Sinner now returns home with many regrets (the manymissed break points, 16 out of 18)and a lesson he had talked about, perhaps out of politeness, the day before. He said that when he plays with the Serbian he always has to learn. And this time he learned that he shouldn’tnever give up Djokovic as ‘dead’. And that, despite having strung together an incredible number of aces (24), he suffered three breaks, all decisive.

Tenth match between Alcaraz and Djokovic on Sunday

He will meet Carlos Alcaraz in the final on Sunday. The world number one is hunting for the Career Grand Slam. Nine precedents between the Serbian and Alcaraz: Djokovic is ahead 5-4 in the matches diretti.

Djokovic’s words: “He pushed me over the limit”

“I can’t find the words. It all seems surreal to methe intensity and quality of the tennis was extremely high and I knew that only by playing like this could I win. Jannik is an incredible player and he pushed me to the limit.” These are the words of Novak Djokovic, in the on-court interviewafter the success over Jannik Sinner in the second semi-final of the Australian Open 2026. In delirium the Melbourne audience, who cheered for the Serbianwho has always been “fond” of the Australian Major.