Sitting on his bench, head in his hands, Novak Djokovic lets the tears flow. It’s more than 1:30 a.m. at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne and the Serbian, 38 years and 255 days old, has just produced one of the greatest performances of an already extraordinary career.
Apart from himself, no one saw him capable of overthrowing the metronome Jannik Sinner, double title holder and almost invincible on hard court, in the semi-final of the Australian Open. Especially after conceding the first set or finding yourself down two sets to one. But there you go. The Belgradois is made of a metal whose composition he is the only one to know.
After a fierce 4h10 fight where he notably had to erase eight break points in the final set, the ex-boss of the circuit showed that he is stainless (3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3) and offered himself the right to challenge Sunday in the final the other monster of the moment, Carlos Alcaraz, winner of a shaky physique and an epic duel against Alexander Zverev (6-4, 7-6 (5), 6-7 (3), 6-7 (4), 7-5 in 5h27).
“If there was still any doubt about the identity of the GOAT (best player of all time), today the debate is closed,” said retired Caroline Garcia on X (ex-Twitter). What Novak Djokovic is doing is unreal. » The term is well chosen. Both for this feat and this qualification for a 38th Grand Slam final, the first since the 2024 US Open.
But also for the whole of a rather incredible tournament which saw the No. 5 in the ATP benefit from incredible luck to reach the last four. A disqualification narrowly avoided in the 3rd round with an angry strike near the head of a ball girl, a withdrawal from Mensik in the round of 16 and an abandonment by Musetti in the quarter while the Italian was stepping on him…
Undefeated in ten finals in Melbourne
“To be honest, I have trouble finding the words,” he says, very moved and carried like never before by the local public on this crazy night. It seems surreal. It reminded me of my match here in 2012 against Rafa (he beat Nadal in five sets and 5h53, the longest major final in history, Editor’s note), with a very high level of intensity and quality of tennis. He (Sinner) had beaten me the last five times, it was my only chance to hope to win. »
After his dry defeat against Alcaraz last summer in New York, the man with 24 Grand Slams explained that it would now be very difficult for him to fight with the current Big 2 in the five-set format. “It’s true, but I said very difficult, not impossible,” smiles the former world No. 1, who was able to arrive with a renewed sense of freshness after his truncated second week. I had to get on their level. »
The phenomenal resistance of veteran Djoko also highlighted the major shortcomings of his young rival, who becomes surprisingly brittle in extended matches and systematically loses any match longer than 3h50 (nine out of nine).
And now, Alcaraz…
One Everest hides the other. The Serbian will now have to do the same thing again on Sunday against the current king of the rankings, in search of a first coronation in the antipodes which would make him the youngest player in the open era to win the four major tournaments.
“I saw Carlos after his half, he told me that he was sorry for having delayed the start of my match, that since I was old, it was time to go to bed,” he jokes. I feel like I already won tonight (Friday). But we have to come back and face No. 1. I hope I have enough energy to fight head to head. After God decides! »
To push the limits of his legend even further, 18 years after his first crown, Djokovic will be in more than conquered territory. The ten-time winner of the Australian Open has never lost in a final down under…
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