Novak Djokovic was brilliant; Jannik Sinner Wilted – semi-final of the Australian Open

BY JAMES BECK

What happened under the lights of Rod Laver Arena on Friday night?

Where was Jannik Sinner’s big tennis match?

This happened after Carlos Alcaraz came so close to attending the wrong party. The Spanish wonder was so close to getting out of the Australian Open.

Maybe the lights caught the sinner

Alcaraz simply came to life in the crucial moment of his afternoon battle with the hard-hitting German 6-6 Alexander Zverev. Alcaraz almost took the excitement too far when he went down 5-3 in a head-on collision with Zverev in the fifth set. The Spanish star won that match and then reached the final of the Australian Open on Sunday with a score of 6-4, 7-6 (5), 6-7 (3), 6-7 (4), 7-5.

Maybe it was the lights in the Rod Laver Arena that upset Sinner against Novak Djokovic.

This was no ordinary Novak as he did everything but defeat his round of 16 and quarterfinal opponents. A playful free pass past these two opponents obviously played a key role in Novak’s route to the Australian Open final.

What happened to Sinner’s game?

But what happened to Sinner’s planned entry into another Australian Open final?

The answer is a 38-year-old Serbian who has practically spent a long tennis career in Melbourne.

This will be Djokovic’s 11th^Th Travel to the Australian Open championship game.

Djokovic was everywhere, or so it seemed, as he dominated the final two sets of his 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory over Sinner. This was probably one of Novak’s most spectacular performances in his long tennis career.

NOVAK HAD ALL THE ANSWERS

Sinner simply couldn’t handle Djokovic’s amazing speed, consistency and power after clearing the first three sets. He was spectacular in all parts of the game.

Sinner tried with all his might to unravel Djokovic, but nothing the Italian star did could permanently trump Novak. And when it came time for Sinner to unleash his own power, he fired blanks.

Novak wanted to win and he did it in spectacular fashion.

The talented Alcaraz might find it difficult to showcase his own game and magic against Djokovic and his experience, not to mention Novak’s amazing success with a tennis racket. It should be an interesting and exciting men’s final.

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PrimeNewsDesk was the 2003 USTA National Media Award winner for print media. A 1995 MBA graduate of The Citadel, he can be reached at Jamesbecktennis@gmail.com.