Djokovic vs Sinner, clash in the Australian Open tennis semifinals on the 26th

Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic (No. 1, Serbia) and Jannik Sinner (No. 1, Serbia) in the men's singles semifinals of the Australian Open, the first major tennis tournament of the season (total prize money of 86.5 million Australian dollars, about 76.1 billion won). 4th place, Italy) face off.

The match between Djokovic and Sinner held in Melbourne, Australia on the 26th is a 'big match' that attracts as much attention from fans as the final.

If you look at his career alone, Djokovic is overwhelming.

He has won the Australian Open 10 times, and is currently on a 33-game winning streak at the Australian Open.

Djokovic, who achieved three consecutive wins in the tournament from 2019 to 2021, was unable to participate in the tournament in 2022 due to problems with the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) vaccination, but returned to the top in 2023.

Excluding 2022, when he did not participate, the result is virtually the same as winning for the past four consecutive years.

In particular, this tournament is the best opportunity for Djokovic to set a record of 25 major singles wins.

At the French Open in May, the next major tournament, Rafael Nadal (Spain), who has been suffering from injuries recently, is preparing to play Roland Garros, which may be his last, and at Wimbledon in July, he remembers losing to Carlos Alcaraz (second place, Spain) in last year's final. There is.

Above all, for Djokovic, born in 1987, time is not on his side, so the sooner he achieves 25 wins, the better.

Compared to the 'Tennis Emperor' Roger Federer (retired, Switzerland), born in 1981, who last won a major tournament at the 2018 Australian Open, six years ago, this year is likely to be Djokovic's last chance as well.

Semifinal opponent Sinner was born in 2001 and is 14 years younger than Djokovic.His best results in major tournaments are this tournament and the semifinals at Wimbledon last year.

Although his record against Djokovic is inferior at 2 wins and 4 losses, his confidence has been boosted by his 2 wins against Djokovic at the end of last year.

In November of last year, Sinner won 2-1 (7-5 ​​6-7<5-7> 7-6<7-2>) in the group stage of the Men's Professional Tennis (ATP) Tour Finals, and also won the Davis Cup in the same month. Won 2-1 (6-2 2-6 7-5).

In particular, in the Davis Cup, Sinner won the singles and doubles on the same day, earning two wins against Djokovic in one day.

Above all, considering the final, Djokovic is under pressure to minimize the physical burden in the semifinals against Sinner.

Sinner finished all five games until the quarterfinals with a 3-0 win.He also defeated Andrey Rublev (5th place, Russia) 3-0 (6-4 7-6<7-5> 6-3) in the quarterfinals on the 23rd.

On the other hand, Djokovic recorded three 3-1 wins and two 3-0 wins while not meeting a player in the top 10 in the world rankings until the quarterfinals.

Djokovic played 15 hours and 9 minutes in 5 games in this tournament, while Sinner played 11 hours and 22 minutes.

Compared to Djokovic's 17 hours and 35 minutes in 7 games when he won last year, it is true that the process of reaching the semifinals this year was somewhat more difficult compared to the 2023 Australian Open.

However, Djokovic won in 2021 even after playing for over 15 hours until the quarterfinals.

In an interview after winning the quarterfinals on the 23rd, Sinner said, "I am happy to face the world's No. 1 player in such a big tournament," and pledged to do well, "It will be a difficult match, but I will give 100% at every moment."

If Djokovic wins against Sinner in the semifinals, he will set a new record for the most consecutive wins in singles at the Australian Open.Monica Seles (retired, USA) achieved her 33rd consecutive win in 1999.

The record for all major tournaments is Martina Navratilova's (retired, USA) 47 consecutive wins set at Wimbledon in 1988. 19가이드03