Novak Djokovic thanked his doubters for helping to give him strength after he produced an incredible performance to defeat Jannik Sinner, the No 2 and two-time defending champion, 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 to reach the Australian Open final.
Djokovic, the fourth seed, will contest his 11th Australian Open final and 38th grand slam final overall on Sunday, his first losing the Wimbledon final in July 2024. At 38 years old, he is the oldest Australian Open men’s finalist in history.
“I never stopped believing in myself,” he said. “There’s a lot of people that doubt me. I see there is a lot of experts all of a sudden that wanted to retire me or have retired me many times the last couple of years.
“I want to thank them all, because they gave me strength. They gave me motivation to prove them wrong, which I have tonight. For me, it’s not a surprise, to be honest. I know what I’m capable of.”
It took an superlative display from the Serb to defeat Sinner, who has become one of the two dominant forces in men’s tennis alongside Carlos Alcaraz. Djokovic played bold, offensive tennis, eviscerating his forehand, serving brilliantly in the important moments and matching the Italian’s physicality despite being 14 years older than his rival.
“I wouldn’t dare to call it [my] finest ever [victory] but definitely the finest in the last couple of years,” said Djokovic. “Under the circumstances and semis against Sinner, who has been playing best tennis of his life in the last couple of years, particularly here … the two-time defending champion, [it] doesn’t get better than this.
“Honestly, when I started my preparations for the new season and kind of set the goals, it’s no secret that grand slams are where I want to play my best tennis. But it becomes, I guess, more difficult for me to motivate myself, and I ask myself questions. ‘OK, what is it that I’m looking for from myself?’ I was imagining playing against Jannik and Carlos [Alcaraz] at the final stages of grand slams this year and battling it out and really giving it all that I have.
“So, very fortunate to already get it in the first slam of the year. So, yeah, big win. Very proud. Very happy. Very relieved, as well, because it was physically very demanding and gruelling.”
Djokovic will next face Alcaraz, the No 1, after the Spaniard survived his own five-set epic against Alexander Zverev, the third seed: “I know I have to come back in less than a couple of days and fight the No 1 in the world,” said Djokovic. “I just hope that I’ll have enough gas to stay toe to toe with him. That’s my desire, then let the gods decide the winner.”
