Jannik Sinner had won two of his last three meetings with Novak Djokovic, and the Italian has struck again, beating the 24-time Grand Slam champion—and 10-time Australian Open champion—in the semifinals in Melbourne in a four-set stunner, 6-1, 6-2, 6-7 (6), 6-3.

Djokovic hadn’t lost a match at the Australian Open in more than six years, since falling to South Korea’s Chung Hyeon in the fourth round in 2018, and he had never lost a semifinal at the first Grand Slam of the year either, going a perfect 10-0 in this round before this loss.

But Sinner was ruthless from start to finish, and the 22-year-old Italian is now through to the first Grand Slam final of his career.

“It was a very, very tough match,” Sinner told Jim Courier in his on-court interview. “I started off really well. For two sets I felt like he was not really feeling that great on court, so I just tried to keep pushing.

“Then in the third set I had match point and I missed the forehand, but this is tennis, and I just tried to be ready for the next set, which I started off really well, and the atmosphere was so, so great to play here.

“I was looking forward for this match. It’s always nice to have this kind of player you can learn from. I lost to him last year in the semis in Wimbledon, so I think I learned a lot from that. It’s part of the process.”

Not only did Sinner pull off the upset of the tournament, but he made history for his home country—he’s the first Italian tennis player, male or female, ever to reach the final of the Australian Open.

Eight Italians had previously reached Grand Slam finals, but only at the other three Grand Slams, and never in Melbourne.

ITALIANS TO REACH GRAND SLAM FINALS (all-time):
Nicola Pietrangeli: 4 Roland Garros finals [1959, 1960, 1961, 1964]
Francesca Schiavone: 2 Roland Garros finals [2010, 2011]
Giorgio de Stefani: 1 Roland Garros final [1932]
Adriano Panatta: 1 Roland Garros final [1976]
Sara Errani: 1 Roland Garros final [2012]
Flavia Pennetta: 1 US Open final [2015]
Roberta Vinci: 1 US Open final [2015]
Matteo Berrettini: 1 Wimbledon final [2021]
Jannik Sinner: 1 Australian Open final [2024]

More to come…