There are not many situations in sport that seem as hopeless as the one Jannik Sinner found himself in on Saturday evening. In the third and decisive set he was 4:5, 0:40 behind against Novak Djokovic. With three match points in a row, a place in the Davis Cup final and thus another possible crowning moment of the season right in sight, the Serbian Grand Slam record winner, world number one and outstanding player of the year usually doesn’t miss something like that.
When it comes down to it, Djokovic is in a class of his own, and as the best return player in the world, he didn’t need to fear Sinner’s serve. But what the 36-year-old usually does like a formality went wrong: he hit a backhand out of bounds, couldn’t return Sinner’s service, had to watch out for a volley from his opponent and so on. The South Tyrolean won the last three games point by point and thus the match 6:2, 2:6 7:5. Sinner not only became a Davis Cup hero in the semifinals, but also the first tennis professional to fend off three match points in a row against Djokovic and win.
“I don’t know if it was the game of my life,” the 22-year-old said later, “but it was definitely a very important one.” He was right. By winning the match, Sinner made up for the Italians’ 0-1 deficit after the opening singles and the final doubles led to the next, decisive showdown with Djokovic. Sinner was the stronger again there, winning with his partner Lorenzo Sonego 6:3, 6:4 against Djokovic and his compatriot Miomir Kecmanovic.
Three wins in three weeks
In the most recent editions of the generational duel, the fourth in the world rankings is ahead: at the ATP Finals the week before last, he defeated Djokovic in the group game before losing the final to him. So now two successes in the Davis Cup semi-finals in Malaga. “Jannik gives us a lot of energy and self-confidence,” said Italy’s Davis Cup captain Filippo Volandri, who met Australia with his team in the final on Sunday.
Klaus Bellstedt, Turin Published/Updated: Recommendations: 8 Published/Updated: Recommendations: 2 Thomas Klemm Published/Updated: Recommendations: 8
Djokovic made a name for himself in Malaga, Spain, and not just because of his defeat. Before the quarter-final against Great Britain, the Serb refused to take a doping test and criticized the timing as “completely illogical”. He only agreed to blood and urine samples after the match.
2023-11-26 18:07:00
#Jannik #Sinner #win #Novak #Djokovic
