Did Sinner win the match or did Djokovic lose it?

[socallefty]

I’ve never seen Djokovic miss so many neutral balls wide or into the net and also miss so many returns particularly on wide serves. Sinner played very well, but the unforced error count for Djokovic was very high (over 50!) and those were not generally forced by him. It did not seem particularly windy and so I have no idea why Djokovic played so poorly in the first two sets in particular. It almost made the match unwatchable as the entertainment level was low for me to see one guy miss so many neutral balls randomly and never pressure the other guy’s serve in a single game.

 

[pico]

My humble opinion as follows:
1) Djoko could have still been dealing with an illness or the wrist issue
2) Sinner played AMAZING!
3) Djoko did not have a game plan. The game of tennis has changed to one of hard-hitting and Sinner is the best at this. Djoko/team should have had a plan B - maybe keep the points short by finishing at net more or using drop shots more.
4) Wind

 

[BeatlesFan]

It did not seem particularly windy

It didn't seem windy to me either just watching on TV, but the McEnroe brothers were on site, close to the court and they kept saying the wind was significant and a big factor. There were many balls Djokovic was reaching for because of the wind and he was off balance a lot, which is not at all like him. The wind definitely affected his play, Sinner dealt with it better.

 

[Poisoned Slice]

Sinner's win was almost as great as Kellerman's babyface turn.

 

[Crocodile]

I think Sunday Night (Melbourne Time) we will get a an interesting view into Jannick Sinners level as he matches up against Danil Medvedev who is obviously in good physical fitness to have outlasted a few of his opponents.
The point being made by the Australian channel 9 commentators was that Sinner has only dropped one set in the whole tournament ( Novak’s game) and he looks pretty fresh and sharp.
Also it is worthwhile to say that Novak made a lot of unforced errors against Sinner and in each match except one, he looked like he was just doing enough to get through to the semis.

 

[duaneeo]

99% of the tour would've folded once Nole won the 3rd set.

 

[AleYeah]

Nole fanboy here. Can't take anything away from Sinner. He opened a frosty can of whoopass at Djoker's expense. Should be a banger of a final.

 

[GabeT]

Djokovic was awful.
Sinner was solid.

I'd put it around 60/40 for Djo bad/Sin good

Sounds about right

 

[soldat]

Congrats to Sinner for playing so well, and hopefully Djokovic can improve for their next meeting.

Sad that Djokovic doesn’t get a chance to break Court’s record on Sunday, but I think Djokovic will win their next slam encounter.

 

[Federev]

Well a lot of people might be surprised, but It was actually both

Exactly.

Novak lost sets one and two.

Sinner won set four.

 

[Krish0608]

You don't beat Djokovic by such a score without help from Djokovic himself. Sinner played well, but Djoker helped him a lot.

Does it matter? Not many people would have beaten Novak today, especially after he won the 3rd set. Sinner deserves massive credit for pulling it off.

 

[Bartelby]

Apparently, a Nadal failure-to-compete is more merit-worthy than a Novak semi-final!

 

[Nate7-5]

LIL BIT OF BOTH

 

[tlm]

Sinner slapped joker right off the court. Joker could not hang with him in baseline rally’s.

 

[Technology Ruined Tennis]

It was a strategic tank by Joker. He had #! locked up and Tiny was out.

Joker is fully aware of the current weak era and how vulnerable his records are if there is a Big 1 to take advantage. He had to give Sinner some much needed confidence.

7D chess people.

 

[canta_Brian]

I would genuinely love it to be a Djokovic epic fail. But no. Sinner has had this level due for a while. Djokovic will still feature in slams this year. But there are now two players who won’t throw in the towel against him, and that sort of attitude is contagious.

 

[lelopez]

I'm no Novak fan, but I feel he played much worse than he did against Raz at Wimbledon where he did not play great either. Sinner played great no doubt, but Djokovic from last year's AO, FO or USO wins the match.

 

[canta_Brian]

I'm no Novak fan, but I feel he played much worse than he did against Raz at Wimbledon where he did not play great either. Sinner played great no doubt, but Djokovic from last year's AO, FO or USO wins the match.

Maybe. I think that we won’t know if it’s a blip or terminal decline for a while yet. Maybe not till Wimbledon.

 

[Sudacafan]

I believe that the final result of both options is exactly the same.

 

[davced1]

Both obviously when there is a winner there has to be a loser.

 

[chjtennis]

Djokovic has looked declined in the last couple of years. It's just that other players couldn't take advantage of that. Sinner yesterday was not pushing beyond his limits, but rather he played well within himself, meaning he can reproduce similar results again and again. It didn't seem like he was producing one performance he will never repeat again, but rather that was the level he would operating at on his normal days. It was just a case where old legend getting taken out by the new king.

 

[soldat]

Djokovic has looked declined in the last couple of years. It's just that other players couldn't take advantage of that. Sinner yesterday was not pushing beyond his limits, but rather he played well within himself, meaning he can reproduce similar results again and again. It didn't seem like he was producing one performance he will never repeat again, but rather that was the level he would operating at on his normal days. It was just a case where old legend getting taken out by the new king.

Way too early to write Djokovic off. I have a feeling he’ll come back at RG and win the whole thing, then win WB.

 

[chjtennis]

Way too early to write Djokovic off. I have a feeling he’ll come back at RG and win the whole thing, then win WB.

He is certainly capable of winning. It depends on whether other players can capitalize on his decline. Not many players have been able to do that in the last 5 years, but finally Alcaraz and Sinner have done it. Djokovic on a good day will still be a daunting task to anyone. However, an old player will wake up feeling terrible on any given day.

 

[weakera]

I believe that the final result of both options is exactly the same.

True

 

[sliceroni]

Yeah Sinner didn’t play his best and still won. No excuses.

 

[Djokovic_is_the_best#1]

99% of the tour would've folded once Nole won the 3rd set.

Sinner has a great mentality about him. He was unfazed losing that 3rd set.

 

[mike danny]

Djokovic has looked declined in the last couple of years. It's just that other players couldn't take advantage of that. Sinner yesterday was not pushing beyond his limits, but rather he played well within himself, meaning he can reproduce similar results again and again. It didn't seem like he was producing one performance he will never repeat again, but rather that was the level he would operating at on his normal days. It was just a case where old legend getting taken out by the new king.

This. I'm tired of hearing people say age doesn't matter. It is not better to be almost 37 than 22.5.

 

[Sudacafan]

Yeah Sinner didn’t play his best and still won. No excuses.

I hope he plays better tomorrow.

 

[fafa]

First two sets were similar to the WTF final but the other way around. Last two sets were more like a regular match between them.

 

[LuckyR]

Sinner was way better than the opponent who showed up.

 

[CHillTennis]

Sinner's not the same player. Last year, he lost to Tsitsipas and Altmaier in slams as well. It's very very obvious that he has hit another level since the indoor season last year. Won 3 out of the last 4 matches against Novak now. He's a different beast now. With respect to Novak beating Crampcaraz at RG, there couldn't have been a more luckier break for Novak.

That isn't fair to Novak. He earned that win against Alcaraz.