While fans were hoping to see Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner face off for the first time at the Australian Open, Novak Djokovic had other ideas. Just four months shy of his 39th birthday, the 38-year-old delivered a vintage performance, knocking out the two-time defending champion 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 in four hours and nine minutes to reach his 11th Australian Open men’s singles final. Naturally, the loss hit Jannik Sinner hard.

Asked in his post-match press conference, “How much does this one hurt?” the Italian didn’t sugarcoat it. “Yeah, a lot,” he admitted. “It was a very important Slam for me. Knowing the background, these things can happen. It was a good match from both of us, and I had my chances, but I couldn’t use them, and that’s the outcome. So it hurts for sure.”

Jannik Sinner had come in riding a five-match winning streak against Djokovic and put together some big numbers over four hours on court.

Djokovic had to weather 72 winners, while Sinner finished with 42 unforced errors and fired 26 aces, the most of his career. Still, it wasn’t enough, and the frustration was clear as Sinner saw his Australian Open run come to an end.

Later, when asked when it started to feel like the match was slipping away and Djokovic was taking control, Sinner didn’t point to a single moment. “There is not one moment, to be honest,” he said. “I had my chances. It was the fifth set, many break points, and I couldn’t use them. He came up with some great shots.”

For those who missed it, Novak Djokovic was under constant pressure. He faced 18 break points throughout the match and somehow saved 16 of them. In the final set alone, he survived two brutal service games early on, fending off all eight break points Sinner created with clutch serving and relentless attacking play.

Looking back, Sinner admitted some of his decisions just didn’t pay off. “I decided sometimes to try a couple of different things, but today they didn’t work,” he said. “That’s tennis. I felt the level was great from both of us. It was a bit of a rollercoaster, and it happened today.”

This is a developing story…