2026 Australian Open SF: Jannik Sinner [2] vs Novak Djokovic [4]

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I just watched.

Novak Djokovic is the greatest tennis player who’s ever lived. End of story.

For an extremely rare time, heart defeated talent.

And for all the Sinner fans that will undoubtedly complain about Novak’s bailout in this event…considering how they acted after Wimbledon last year, all I have to say is you reap what you sow.

Go NoleGoat . Get that 25th major. #LifeBeginsAt38
 
In the SF's, we got a taste of the two frontrunners for majors over the next 5-10 years.

Seems CA is more mentally tough and hungry than JS.

I still predict CA will come out on top in the major count between the two. He's has stronger intangibles and more options when his A game isn't working. He's got a B and C in his back pocket. He's also a bit better on natural surfaces at this point in time.

Sinner can beat anyone on any day but if his A game isn't working well, he's screwed.

I'm still amazed he lost to ND. So many opportunities lost to approach the net when ND was on full defense. Got to work still on improving his transition and net skills, another area CA is solid and smart.
 
Hitman said:
Not today
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never-alfred.gif
 
TennisFan3 said:
2/17 on break points Sinner. WORST Conversion EVER.
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Krish872007 said:
Almost - the worst I've seen was 1/17 lol
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I remember Hewitt vs. Schalken at 2002 Wimbledon. In the third set and early in the fourth set, Hewitt had over 20 break points and didn't convert any of them. Hewitt eventually won 6-2, 6-2, 6-7, 1-6, 7-5 (after being down a break in the fifth set, twice).
 
I’ve been saying all along :
Neutralize sinner deep in the center of the court.
Tommy Paul did it (couldn’t sustain it).
Djoko did it and sustained it.
Long rallies. Extracted impatience.

But what do I know, I just have low tennis IQ, right @NeutralFan?
 
Yah man, Novak. Top drawer stuff to deliver a superb win after such a hard-fought match. Many (including me) anticipated a straightforward loss to Jannik, and there was much talk of a Carlitos / Jannik final. This win is a remarkable achievement at several levels - to beat Jannik who is considered the best current hard court player and defending AO champion; to do so over 5 well contested sets lasting over 4 hours at his age; to play strategically to his strengths, remaining focused. Dude relishes the challenge, and perhaps this, above all, burnishes his longevity at the top of the game.

As for Jannik, this experience is part of the learning curve that he, as a great player, will no doubt use to his future advantage. Dude is astute, hungry to improve and to excel, and I anticipate he will continue in similar vein.

NoleFam said:
The GOAT put on a display tonight. Woowwwww!!! I'm actually shocked. What a performance on those big points. Good fight from Sinner but the AO king wasn't going to be denied. Hats off to all 4 Semifinalists for emptying the tank today and giving us a show. This is what tennis is all about.
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Agree that, man. Enjoyed your comment.
 
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Tallawah Tennis said:
Yah man, Novak. Top drawer stuff to deliver a superb win after such a hard-fought match. Many (including me) anticipated a straightforward loss to Jannik, and there was much talk of a Carlitos / Jannik final. This win is a remarkable achievement at several levels - to beat Jannik who is considered the best current hard court player and defending AO champion; to do so over 5 well contested sets lasting over 4 hours at his age; to play strategically to his strengths, remaining focused. Dude relishes the challenge, and perhaps this, above all, burnishes his longevity at the top of the game.

As for Jannik, this experience is part of the learning curve that he, as a great player, will no doubt use to his future advantage, Dude is astute, hungry to improve and to excel, and I anticipate he will continue in similar vein.


Agree that, man. Enjoyed your comment.
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After the 1st set and how Jannik routined him there, I thought we were headed to another Sinner in 3 or no more than 4 sets. Djokovic had other ideas. He really dug deep and beat the guy who's his toughest opponent right now and who's been dominating on hardcourt the last 2 years. Well dominating everyone except Alcaraz at least. Pretty impressive indeed.

Yea this was another learning experience for Sinner and he will bounce back. If he can get over that heartbreaking loss at RG in a couple of weeks, he will get over this one and learn from it. He has to get better in longer matches. That's the one area where he shows a little weakness.
 
nice strategy there by nole tho, pretending like he couldnt even run in the musetti match which he knew was gonna win, to preserve energy and to make believe he wasn't in conditions, to take the sinner by surprise
 
Pheasant said:
All right folks. We now have the true heavyweight fight between 2 all-time clutch players. Djoker will probably need to beat Alcaraz in 4 in order to win. Unlike Sinner, who is now 6-11 in 5-set matches, Alcaraz dials up his game in the 5th set.

I hope that the final goes 5 sets. Now obviously, I will be cheering on Alcaraz. He’s my favorite player. But if Djoker wins, then I will give 100% credit to him. What he’s doing is absolutely insane.

Will Djoker beat 2 generations of my favorite players in slam finals? First Fed, and now maybe Alcaraz? If he beats Alcaraz on Sunday, then he might as well grab a flux capacitor, then go back to 1984 and beat McEnroe in the Wimbledon final to complete the trifecta.
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well said!
I don't think the General tennis crowd in your mom n pop tennis clubs understand how insanely amazing what we just witnessed.
Tennis is a one man show. only compares to boxing imo.
imagine a 50 years old ex champ fighting 35 years old current heavy weight champion, 35 yrs old no 1 will probably win 9 or 8 out of 10 fights, chances of witnessing and getting that 1 win is so slim for the older ex champion. and then he has to go for it again in 24 hrs. this is just unbelievable mental toughness and an unforgettable achievement for Novak. I think Alcaraz will beat him in straight sets but I will never forget that he made it to 2026 Australian open final after beating an in form Sinner like the way he did.
if I was Novak and if I ended up somehow winning this final, I would announce my retirement on the spot right after the match...
but he probably wouldn't and that's why he is the greatest...
 
Even the most die-hard Nole fan must acknowledge the role of luck of ND getting the walk-over and the retirement in consecutive late-round matches.

He's got an incredibly high tennis IQ, and he definitely won the Sinner match. Being fresher than he would otherwise have been sure didn't hurt.

I believe that Djokovic will raise the trophy on Sunday. Alcaraz has more raw talent, and I hope he wins, but Nole is on average the better tennis player.
 
How the heck did Sinner lose? I mean 8 break points in the final set? One 0-40 and two 15-40's and you can't convert?
2/18 breakpoint conversion overall.
Sinner was TOO AFRAID to go to Novak's forehand. Kept on hitting to Novak's backhand and didn't move Djokovic or even put him under much stress. He didn't use angles to drag Novak off the court, nor did he go bigger on his groundies to attack Novak's forehand, try break it down and keep him guessing.
I've gotta say I'm very disappointed by Sinner. As much as Novak's incredible effort, to me Sinner lost the match, rather than Novak won it.
 
GabeT said:
This is why it’s best to stick to predicting time travel tennis. The second you predict an actual match it becomes clear you simply don’t have a clue
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Oh yeah it was definitely unusual to predict Sinner would win the SF lol, I went out on a real limb

Captain hindsight over here :laughing:
 
weakera said:
Oh yeah it was definitely unusual to predict Sinner would win the SF lol, I went out on a real limb

Captain hindsight over here :laughing:
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That’s exactly my point. What seems an “obvious” result is many times wrong. And that’s for an outcome where we can observe the result. Imagine for time travel tennis! Complete waste of time
 
Novak has come out swinging against Sinner. Aggro Novak. Knows he can't be a pusherSinner machine first set. Novak playing out of his mind second set. Monster servingThis is too physical. Novak slugging toe to toe with half his age. He's winded in the third setThird set was dead even. Last minute break. Novak down 1-2 setsNovak playing out of his mind. I don't think I've ever seen him play this big. Painting lines with serve. Massive rally balls. Changing direction. Making sinner run. Novak machine in the 4th setHuge hold at 4-3 by Novak. Saved two break points. Should have been 4-4. Now up 5-3. Gonna level the match. Sinner comes out crushing... But Novak serving like a robot .. HUGE Novak hold after down double break point. Should be 0-2, but it's 1-1 in the 5thANOTHER Double break point hold by Novak. Saved 3 break points. Should be 4-2 sinner...Novak is done. barely hanging on by the skin of his teeth with miracle winners. 2-2 in the 5th.. should be 4-0 sinnerNovak breaks sinner at 3-3¡!¡¡!! Novak rallying like a God. Beating sinner in long rallies. Holy ****. Novak holds ANOTHER triple break point. WTF. Announcers calling him Houdini. Novak up 5-3. Should have lost the set 6-1. Tennis is ****ing crazySinner has no ****ing idea what planet he's on. Novak harvested his soul
 
TennisFan3 said:
How the heck did Sinner lose? I mean 8 break points in the final set? One 0-40 and two 15-40's and you can't convert?
2/18 breakpoint conversion overall.
Sinner was TOO AFRAID to go to Novak's forehand. Kept on hitting to Novak's backhand and didn't move Djokovic or even put him under much stress. He didn't use angles to drag Novak off the court, nor did he go bigger on his groundies to attack Novak's forehand, try break it down and keep him guessing.
I've gotta say I'm very disappointed by Sinner. As much as Novak's incredible effort, to me Sinner lost the match, rather than Novak won it.
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Idk if these guys take those BP for granted. Alcaraz similiar aswell. Sinner too passive sometimes he definitely should have gone bigger at times. Novak's shots were more penetrating and damaging Sinner couldn't create many angles in this slow low bouncing court don't think he likes it..
 
GabeT said:
That’s exactly my point. What seems an “obvious” result is many times wrong. And that’s for an outcome where we can observe the result. Imagine for time travel tennis! Complete waste of time
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AGI won't be limited by the constraints of humanity, kid.
 
Watched the match live, watched in on repeat again. And post that read the comments here. Did my bit to experience this classic. What a match, what a warrior!
 
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