Novak Djokovic had become so dominant at the Australian Open that his success at the business end of the tournament felt inevitable – something of a natural law.
Any time he prevailed at the quarterfinal stage, he would go on to win the tournament.
From 2008 to 2023, Djokovic played, and won, 10 semifinals and 10 finals. This flawless combined record of 20-0 boosted his incredible aura as he competed at Rod Laver Arena.
It took almost 20 years after his AO debut in 2005 for Djokovic to taste defeat so deep into the tournament. But that day arrived in 2024, when Jannik Sinner beat the then-world No.1 before going on to win his first major title.
A torch-passing moment?
Despite a much greater age difference between Sinner and Djokovic, the result shared parallels with Djokovic’s own seismic win over Roger Federer in the 2008 semifinals.
That was a moment we revisited in our AO Flashback series, when Djokovic was the game’s highly-touted rising star facing a towering figure in Federer, who had reached 10 consecutive Grand Slam finals, and won eight of them.
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Federer’s Australian Open record was excellent; he had won three of the past four titles and 31 of his past 32 matches at Melbourne Park.
He had also beaten Djokovic, in straight sets, just four months earlier in the 2007 US Open final.
Djokovic avenged that defeat at just 20 years of age, two years younger than Sinner was when the Italian upstaged Djokovic in 2024. But the Serb was a similarly-towering figure in the game, just as Federer was 16 years earlier.
Entering AO 2024 Djokovic had won three of the previous year’s four Slam titles, like Federer had done in 2007. And his record at Melbourne Park was even better; he’d won in each of his previous four visits, his last loss coming in the 2018 fourth round against Hyeon Chung.
Djokovic had since built a 33-match AO winning streak, equalling Monica Seles for the longest unbeaten run at Melbourne Park.
Turning the tide
Djokovic was thrilled to learn he’d joined Seles, a WTA legend whom he described as “one of my childhood idols and heroes”.
But Sinner was similarly thrilled to learn he’d set up a semifinal with Djokovic, after beating Andrey Rublev. “This is what I practice for, no, to play against the best players in the world,” Sinner said.
“Obviously [he] has an incredible record here, so for me it's a pleasure to play against him, especially in the final stages of the tournament where things are a little bit more interesting.
“I'm looking forward to it, to be honest.”
Sinner had reason to feel optimistic, given he had started turning the match-up in his favour.
Djokovic won their first three meetings, but Sinner finally overcame the world No.1 at the ATP Finals in November 2023, and he repeated the feat – saving three match points in the process – at the Davis Cup Finals later that month.
A resounding performance
Sinner had not dropped a set en route to his first AO semifinal. By dominating the first two against Djokovic 6-1 6-2, that meant 17 consecutive sets won.
In his previous 102 Australian Open matches, Djokovic had only three times found himself trailing two sets to love – against Chung in 2018, against Federer in the fourth round of 2007, and against Marat Safin in his main-draw debut of 2005.
He lost all three of those matches.
But Djokovic certainly threatened to buck that trend when, from match point down in the third-set tiebreak, he won three straight points, snatched the set, and celebrated as a guttural roar erupted from the stands.
Sinner could have folded after letting that match point go with a forehand error. Yet he responded like it had never happened.
The Italian took charge of the fourth set, breaking in the fourth game and streaking to the finish line.
“Obviously it means so much to me to beat Novak here in Melbourne,” Sinner said after the 6-1 6-2 6-7(6) 6-3 triumph. “But in the other way, I know that the tournament is not over.”
Two days later he rebounded from two-sets-to-love down to beat Daniil Medvedev in the final, his first Grand Slam singles title.
He completed the 2024 season with a 73-6 record, a second major title in New York, and the year-end world No.1 ranking.