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Novak Djokovic stunned by Jannik Sinner in Aussie Open semis
Novak Djokovic of Serbia. IPA

Jannik Sinner is through to his first career Grand Slam final, and he got there in style.

The fourth-seeded Italian upset top seed and defending champion Novak Djokovic of Serbia 6-1, 6-2, 6-7 (6), 6-3 in the semifinals of the Australian Open on Friday in Melbourne.

Sinner, 22, moves on to oppose either third-seeded Daniil Medvedev of Russia or sixth-seeded Alexander Zverev of Germany in the title match on Sunday.

Sinner's best previous result in a major tournament was an appearance at the Wimbledon semifinals last year. He also lost to Djokovic in the championship match of the year-end ATP Finals last November after beating Djokovic in the round-robin portion of the event.

Djokovic, 36, was chasing his 11th Australian Open title. He hadn't lost a match in Melbourne since 2018, winning four of the next five titles and missing out only in 2022 when he was deported from Australia for being unvaccinated against COVID-19.

Last year, Djokovic won the Australian Open, French Open and U.S. Open, missing out on a calendar-year Grand Slam only by falling in the Wimbledon final in a five-set match against Spain's Carlos Alcaraz.

Sinner rolled through the first two sets Friday, never facing a break point. Djokovic saved the lone break point of the third set in the opening game. Sinner had a match point at 6-5 in the tiebreaker, but Djokovic won that point and the next two to extend the match.

Sinner broke serve for a 3-1 lead in the fourth set, then served out the 3-hour, 22-minute match.

This article first appeared on Field Level Media and was syndicated with permission.

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