Against all odds, 38-year-old Novak Djokovic has stunned Jannik Sinner at the Australian Open semifinal, and will face Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday for his record breaking 25th Grand Slam tennis. Almost nobody predicted this outcome, seeing how dominant Jannik Sinner has been on Grand Slams, specially at Australian Open (19 consecutive victories with two titles)... and how Djokovic was nearly eliminated by Lorenzo Musetti in the quarter-finals, only qualifying because his rival got injured.
"Thanks for allowing me at least one", Djokovic said to Sinner at the net after the 4 hour 9 minutes epic. In the head to head, Sinner still leads 6-5, but the Italian had beaten Djokovic five times between 2023 and 2025.
Sunday's will be Djokovic's 39th Grand Slam final (with a record of 24-14). The Australian Open is his most successful tournament, winning ten times, last time in 2023. At 38, some thought that Djokovic's glory days were over, but after two years without a Major final, he will face World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz... who also overcame an epic five-set match with Zverev.
The result of the final will surely by historic. If Alcaraz wins, he will be the youngest player, at 22, to complete the Career Grand Slam (he already is the youngest player to reach finals at all four major). If Djokovic wins, he will be the oldest Grand Slam winner in men's singles, surpassing Ken Rosewall (37 at the 1972 Australian Open).