Fourth-seeded Italian Jannik Skinner surprisingly defeated top-ranked Novak Djokovic on Friday at Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena.
The top-seeded Serbian was the clear favourite to win the Grand Slam, but Skinner stunned the tennis world by upsetting 10-time winner Djokovic in a one-sided encounter that would go down in history as one of the Italian’s greatest victories, 6-1, 6-2, 6-7(6), 6-3.
The top-ranked player made 54 unforced errors and failed to produce a break point during the 22-year-old’s incredible performance at the Australian Open in 2024. Sinner seemed to be daring the reigning champion to defeat him in the rallies.
It was a pretty tough match. “I started off really well,” Sinner told Jim Courier during his on-court interview. “For two sets, I felt like he wasn’t feeling great on the court, so I just kept pressing. Then, in the third set, I had a match point and missed a forehand, but that’s tennis.
“I just wanted to be ready for the next set, and I started out strong and of course, the atmosphere was fantastic to play in.”
“I was looking forward to this match,” Sinner stated. “It’s always wonderful to have this type of talent to learn from. I lost against Djokovic in the Wimbledon semifinals last year, and I believe I gained a lot from the experience. “It is all part of the process.”
Sinner dealt him his first AO defeat since 2018 and his first Melbourne loss in the semi-finals or later.
Despite his defeat, Djokovic will remain No. 1 in the upcoming Pepperstone ATP Rankings. Sinner might reach a career high of No. 3 if he wins his first major championship and Daniil Medvedev loses to Alexander Zverev in Friday’s second semi-final (reports ATP Tour).