Third set: *Djokovic 3-6, 6-2, 0-1 Sinner (*next server)A few more struggles for Sinner on serve in the second set, but he gets through this one with little trouble.Blink and you’ll miss it.Hello, it’s like the boys get the briefing today about the need for a bit of drama.Djokovic, who has nipped off court for a quick ‘outfit change’, is keeping Sinner waiting ahead of the third set.Sinner to serve.

I’m off for a breather, so Tom is here to guide you through the third …At 30-15 Sinner smacks a forehand into net.So Djokovic has two set points … and he needs only one as he crunches a cross-court forehand winner! It’s the first set he’s won in 11 against Sinner.And – after a walkover and then a retirement in his past two matches – it’s also the first set he’s won since Saturday.And – like the semi-final before it – this is now very much game on!Second set: *Djokovic 3-6, 5-3 Sinner (*next server)“Hello Katy, you’re absolutely right in naming Djoker as a GOAT,” says Krishna Moorthy.“The tennis world has seen its share of Lavers, Borgs, Beckers, Edbergs, Samprases but no one comes close to the dominance of the big 3.

Even though I am primarily a Federer fan, grudgingly came around to admire Nadal and never really liked or supported Djoker, his greatness is unquestionable.Am sure a CAT scan will reveal cogs and wheels and not muscles and tendons.Forget his titles and trophies, just for the steely nerves that he possesses he must belong to the all time greats, very near the top (the top is RF).” So you’re giving No 1 GOAT-ness to Federer, Krishna? If we’re measuring it by the pure beauty with which he played the game I’d agree.But anyway, I think a scan for Sinner would also quite possibly reveal he’s really a cyborg, as he holds to love.

Second set: Djokovic 3-6, 5-2 Sinner* (*next server)A big point at 30-all,Will it be game point Djokovic or break point Sinner? An aggressive Djokovic has Sinner on the back foot and it’s 40-30,Djokovic is then drawn to the net by a drop shot … he does well to get it back … before lunging to the backhand volley … and Sinner sends the winner into the open court! Deuce,And the first sign of fatigue from Djokovic in this second set as he dumps a meek forehand into the net to give Sinner a break-back point,Djokovic belligerently sends down an ace.

And then another! And then an unreturned serve!Second set: Djokovic* 3-6, 4-2 Sinner (*next server)“Hi Katy, I must take issue with your comment about undisputed GOATness; there’s no such thing,” emails Richard Hirst.“How would the big three have fared against a Rod Laver playing with modern equipment, training methods, diet etc? We shall never know but I reckon he would have been a match for them.Recentness isn’t everything.” I don’t think saying Djokovic is the GOAT is recency bias, but when it comes to debating different eras, playing styles etc everything is so subjective – we’ll never know how Laver would have done against Djokovic, Federer or Nadal.So I think the only fair way to measure it is on pure numbers and, with 24 slams, Djokovic is above all the rest.

Sinner holds to 15, by the way.Second set: Djokovic 3-6, 4-1 Sinner* (*next server)But no sooner does Djokovic break than he is in danger of being broken at 0-30, conceding the second point with a double fault, his first of the match, and then the third point when he skews his volley wide, under pressure from Sinner.So Sinner has three break-back points … Djokovic conjures up a superb half-volley on the first … Sinner, being Sinner, still somehow gets to it … but can’t get the ball back! The next two BPs come and go too.And Djokovic escapes to victory from there! He’s backed up the break.Djokovic* 3-6, 3-1 Sinner (*next server)Forget plastic man, Djokovic is now flying around like Superman to take the opening point on Sinner’s serve at the net.

0-15 turns into 15-30 … and then 30-40 when Djokovic makes Sinner pay for a poorly thought-out and executed drop shot! So the first break point of the second set is for Djokovic … but he tamely nets his return.Deuce.This time Djokovic lands a stinging return and secures a second BP … but Sinner’s serve down the T is too good and Djokovic frames the ball into the night skies.Here’s a third BP … and Sinner sends a cross-court forehand long! The crowd are screaming and Djokovic raises his arms, imploring them to shout even louder.There appears to be plenty of life in the former champion yet.

Second set: Djokovic 3-6, 2-1 Sinner* (*next server)Djokovic promised before this match that he wouldn’t “walk out with a white flag”, especially given the history that is on the line with that elusive grand slam title No 25, and there’s a sense now that, however hard this match-up may be against Sinner, he’s going to leave everything out there in his pursuit of undisputed GOAT-ness.And Djokovic reinforces that message with a hold to love.Second set: Djokovic* 3-6, 1-1 Sinner (*next server)Djokovic, now hitting with far more depth and belief, is screaming at himself when he lets an opportunity slip at 30-15 on Sinner’s serve.So instead it’s 40-15.And Sinner makes no mistake from there.

Second set: Djokovic 3-6, 1-0 Sinner* (*next server)Fancy some first-set stats? Sure you do,Sinner hit six aces and 15 winners, compared with Djokovic’s one and five,Sinner has dictated the majority of the points, but it’s Djokovic who gets the better of Sinner here, sliding and doing the splits (he’s still the plastic man!) to get to the short ball … and Sinner spins and nets! 40-15,Djokovic is having to work so hard to put Sinner away and, after another draining duel, Djokovic surrenders with a drop shot that doesn’t even get to the net,40-30, Sinner is piling on the pressure … but then hits beyond the baseline.

Djokovic does what he couldn’t do in the first set by opening with a hold.Meanwhile here’s Tumaini’s preview of the women’s final:At the end of yet another semi-final in Melbourne on Thursday night, Aryna Sabalenka slammed the door shut on Elina Svitolina with a searing forehand winner, her 29th of the night.It was another near flawless performance from the Belarusian, another match she dominated from start to finish without any response, reinforcing her status as the leading hard court player of her generation.Six matches in, Sabalenka’s fourth consecutive run to the Australian Open final has proved one of her most impressive.Sabalenka is yet to drop a set and she has shown how much her game has evolved by also dominating the net and peppering opponents with an array of delicate drop shots.

The few times she has been pushed, such as in her third round match against Anastasia Potapova, the world No 1 has produced her best tennis in the decisive moments and she has been in control of the baseline throughout.A completely different match-up awaits Sabalenka on Saturday as she faces Elena Rybakina, the fifth seed and one of her toughest rivals, for her fifth grand slam title.While their career achievements reflect the fact that Sabalenka is the more rounded player, a better mover and returner with greater variation and consistency, Rybakina is one of the only players on tour capable of tearing the racket from Sabalenka’s hands.This was the case just three months ago at the WTA Finals in Riyadh, where Rybakina closed out a spectacular 6-3, 7-6(0) win over Sabalenka to clinch the second biggest title of her career behind her Wimbledon crown.At the end of the match, after the Kazakhstani bulldozed through the second set tie-break without dropping a set, an inconsolable Sabalenka was captured on video venting to her team: “Once a year, even a stick shoots,” she said of Rybakina’s performance.

Rybakina is not nearly as temperamental as Sabalenka suggested, but her title run in Riyadh had come after so many false starts.Until a few weeks before the WTA Finals, Rybakina was not even in a qualifying spot as one of the top eight players.Her late surge in Asia to qualify for the event increasingly looks like one of the more significant moments of her career.She has continued the momentum she built in Riyadh, also reaching the final in Melbourne without dropping a set.While Sabalenka’s level has been astounding, there is no doubt that Rybakina has had the tougher path to the final, defeating two top players in world No 2 Iga Swiatek and Jessica Pegula, the WTA No 6, en route.

You can read the rest here:Sinner gives Djokovic a taste of his own 2015 medicine by dragging Djokovic side to side in an attritional rally before finishing his opponent off by crushing a forehand winner after a 17-shot exchange.30-0.40-0.Game and first set Sinner, with a backhand winner down the line.If Djokovic’s task wasn’t already tough enough – it’s now become about 1000% harder.

First set: Djokovic 3-5 Sinner* (*next server)15-0, 30-0, 40-0, game.Djokovic’s first love hold – but has it come too late to change the outcome of this first set? After a slow start, Djokovic is now going toe-to-toe with Sinner, but that early loss of serve means that Sinner will now serve for his 10th consecutive set against the Serb.First set: Djokovic* 2-5 Sinner (*next server)Sinner brings up 30-0 after chasing down the drop shot and rifling a winner into the corner.Djokovic, undeterred, decides to go for another drop – his 38-year-old legs can only do so much running against the 24-year-old, after all – and this time Sinner produces a cute angled winner.What lovely touch.

40-0,Make that game,Djokovic must hold serve if he’s to push Sinner any further in this opener,First set: Djokovic 2-4 Sinner* (*next server)15-0, 30-0, 40-0; Djokovic’s most stress-free service game of this semi-final so far,But Sinner surges back to 40-30 with a backhand winner from the middle of the court to Djokovic’s left; Sinner did well to find the angle.

Sinner appears on top in the next point but his forehand skids just beyond the baseline.So Djokovic escapes with a hold to 30.First set: Djokovic* 1-4 Sinner (*next server)Oooohs and aaaaahs at 30-15 as Djokovic needs two smashes to put away Sinner – followed by a simple volley.Such is the efforts anyone has to go to to pierce Sinner’s defences.Anyway, it’s 30-all, and suddenly there’s a spring in the 38-year-old Djokovic’s step as he patiently waits in the rally before letting rip with a forehand down the line for 30-40, his first break point! “It’s in there,” says Tim Henman on the TNT Sports commentary.

“It’s just how often he can deliver it.” But Sinner is so clutch on break points, apparently he’s saved 79 of the past 95 BPs he’s faced in Melbourne over the past three years, and he calmly dismisses the danger here with the next three points to hold.First set: Djokovic 1-3 Sinner* (*next server)Perhaps the biggest cheer of the match so far as Djokovic edges ahead to 30-15, having hit the ball with a bit more authority.The pair then go backhand to backhand, and Sinner ends the rally with a deft backhand drop shot, something he’s added to his repertoire of late.That’s one of the craziest things about Sinner and Alcaraz; it’s not just all the stats and grand slam titles but the extent to which they are constantly pushing each other to improve and add more to their already peerless games.

Djokovic is facing break point for the second successive game at 30-40, but he gets himself out of trouble with an ace and then gets himself on the scoreboard after two deuces.First set: Djokovic* 0-3 Sinner (*next server)Another straightforward hold for Sinner, to 15.This is ominous stuff from the Italian.We wondered if Djokovic would be fresh or undercooked, having played only two sets since Saturday because of his walkover in the last 16 and his great escape against the injured Lorenzo Musetti in the quarter-finals, but at the moment he’s simply being carved up by the two-time defending champ.Djokovic 0-2 Sinner* (*next server)So how on earth does Djokovic win this, given he’s basically playing a younger, fitter version of himself? Well unlike his approach in his heyday, Djokovic will need to shorten the points wherever possible and he’d also benefit from throwing in plenty of variety in terms of slice and spin, and coming to the net when he gets the chance, to disrupt Sinner’s metronomic rhythm from the baseline.

It goes without saying he needs to serve extremely well and not give Sinner too many second serves.But at 15-all he lands a big first serve, and Sinner, peak Djokovic style, still sends a backhand pass down the line a few shots later! Djokovic is basically looking at a mirror image of himself 14 years ago.15-30 quickly develops into 15-40 and Sinner strikes straight away.First set: Djokovic* 0-1 Sinner (*next server)Sinner steps up to serve first, having swapped his much-maligned mustard shorts for some plain white ones, though he’s still got his olive green shirt.He wins a punchy first, second and third point, and it’s 40-0.

Sinner can’t close out the game on the first opportunity but does on the second,Five points and five first serves; Sinner’s already got his eye in,Right, have you got enough energy for some more tennis? Come on, we can do this,Sinner is introduced to the crowd before the 10-time champion – this is Sinner’s court these days, after all, having won the past two titles – and he’s aiming to become the first player since Djokovic himself in 2011-13 and 2019-21 to win three consecutive Australian Open crowns,The crowd is a little muted, it has to be said; they’re probably already absolutely exhausted having watched Alcaraz’s win on the big screen outside.

Here they come, weaving their way through the new backstage tunnel, Djokovic a few steps ahead of Sinner … though it’s likely that Sinner will be setting the pace once this match gets under way.Djokovic has got his game face on now, as he goes through his final preparations in the gym.The form book suggests we’re unlikely to see another five-set semi-final for the ages in this match – Sinner has won their past five meetings, including straight-sets victories in the Wimbledon and French Open semis last year – but no one predicted that Zverev would push an ailing Alcaraz to his limits today, and that’s why we watch.No match can be won before it’s played, even though Djokovic himself would admit that Sinner is the heavy, heavy favourite today.Sinner is looking very relaxed backstage.

I don’t think the delay will affect him or Djokovic, they’re too experienced for that.And Djokovic is now congratulating Alcaraz:All class, @DjokerNole 👏Minutes before his own semifinal, Novak took out the time to congratulate Carlos Alcaraz on his epic victory.pic.twitter.com/ES9cfudVy2And here’s Jack’s match report:Murmurs around Melbourne Park had been building.

That the men’s Australian Open draw had not met expectations in 2026.That matches had been one-sided, and lacking memorable moments.That so-called SinCaraz was a foregone conclusion.That tennis had lost its touch.Murmur no more.

In this year’s first match on Rod Laver Arena to go five sets, Carlos Alcaraz leapt off the canvas to outlast Alexander Zverev 6-4, 7-6 (5), 6-7 (3), 6-7 (4), 7-5 over five hours and 27 minutes – the third longest match in Australian Open history.It was so long it pushed the second men’s semi-final back more than an hour and left thousands watching on big screens around Melbourne Park.It was filled with more twists and turns than the Great Ocean Road.It was a duel that tossed expectation out the window, and then opened the door and walked out as well.Walk? Carlos Alcaraz wished he could, when he was within a game of the match all the way back in the third set