Jannik Sinner’s Stunning Victory Over Djokovic at Australian Open and the Djokovic-Sourced Wisdom
Both Novak Djokovic and the Rod Laver Arena audience were in disbelief when Jannik Sinner defeated the World No. 1 in his first Australian Open since 2018. Sinner stood tall. In the semi-final, the Italian easily defeated the Serbian ace, 6-1 6-2 6-7(6) 6-3.
With the win, Sinner also advanced to his first-ever Grand Slam final, where he will take against the winners of Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev’s other semi-final match.
After the game, Sinner revealed something that he had learned from Jim Courier during his on-court interview. In response to Courier’s question regarding his strategy for facing Djokovic, Sinner joked, “Ask him.”
Then, Courier disclosed that Djokovic was consulted a few years prior to offer advise to Sinner. “It’s odd that you say ‘ask him,’ because your coach did ask him when you played him for the first time in Monte Carlo in 2021. “Can you tell me a few things that maybe Jannik can work on to improve?” he asked him after the game.
And Novak did, being the outstanding athlete that he is. He said three or four different things to your coach. Did your coach even explain you what those items were at the time, as you recall? Since I’ve heard the story, but I haven’t heard you discuss it,” he continued.
Sinner acknowledged that it was accurate, but he also mentioned that Djokovic had previously assisted him. “This is a true story, and I was able to train with him in Monaco when I was younger—17 or 16 years old. And I believe that’s when the process of attempting to pick up tips from the world’s top players began.
Then, after the game, he encouraged me to try to move the ball a little bit more and not to be a little bit predictable since, clearly, the match is different.
“So we are trying to do that, Obviously, the serve has improved a lot but still I have the feeling that I still can improve a lot and that’s why I have a great team behind me to keep pushing.”
In his last four encounters with Djokovic, Sinner had triumphed three times. In November, he defeated the legendary Sebian in the group stage of the ATP Finals as well as the Davis Cup.
Sinner went on to say that he and Djokovic had a similar playing style and had some particular admiration for the Serbian. “I think we play really similar and you have to first of all try to return as many balls as possible,” he stated.
Because he’s such a fantastic server, I occasionally tried to predict a little bit as well as to push and move him around a little bit. It’s a pleasure to be here, as I mentioned; they call it the Happy Slam for a reason. I won’t tell you the strategies because I have a feeling or because I hope to face him in a few more matches,” he continued.
The 22-year-old saved a match point in the third set but still managed to break Djokovic’s serve twice to secure a historic victory.
The legendary Serbian player had triumphed in every one of his ten previous Rod Laver Arena semifinals and finals.
Also Read : Main Atal Hoon: महाराष्ट्र में बीजेपी नेता मुफ्त में ‘मैं अटल हूँ’ दिखाएंगे, समय और स्थान जानें
