Australian Open 2024: Novak Djokovic faces sternest test of title defence against Jannik Sinner

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Novak Djokovic has his sights set on obtaining his 25th major title, and he plans to hold the official record for having the most Grand Slam singles titles.

Location: Melbourne Park Timeframe: 14th to 28th of January As AI language model, I don't have opinions.

Live updates on the men's singles semi-finals will be available on the BBC Sport website and app from 03:30 GMT. Those who prefer listening can tune into Radio 5 Sports Extra and BBC Sounds from 08:00 to catch the coverage.

On Friday, Novak Djokovic will encounter a tough challenge as he defends his Australian Open championship title against Jannik Sinner of Italy in the semi-finals.

The person ranked as the best in the world is trying to achieve their 25th Grand Slam title and their 11th win in Melbourne. They haven't been defeated in over six years at this competition.

However, Sinner emerged victorious in two out of their last three encounters, defeating the Serbian player on two occasions within a span of 12 days in November.

In the second semi-final match, Daniil Medvedev will face Alexander Zverev.

You can access live text commentary for the two matches on the BBC Sport website and app starting from 03:30 GMT. Meanwhile, BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra will provide radio coverage, which starts at 08:00.

When Djokovic beat Taylor Fritz in the quarter-finals, he added to his impressive winning streak of 33 matches at the Australian Open. This is now equal to the tournament record set by Monica Seles in the 1990s.

The 36-year-old player is on course to make history at his preferred Slam. He has won the title 10 times in the past when he has reached this stage, so he has a good chance of doing it again.

After defeating 12th seed Fritz in four sets, Djokovic expressed his surprise at learning that he was sharing this achievement and record with Monica. This newfound knowledge made the win even more meaningful to him.

I know about my winning streak and the number of matches I've won at the Rod Laver Arena during my career. I don't want to lose that.

As the streak continues, I gain more and more confidence, as well as higher expectations, which motivates me to go above and beyond. This court holds a special place in my heart as it has been a crucial part of my career.

Will Sinner Stop Djokovic's Winning Streak?

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Jannik Sinner has achieved his previous top performance in a Grand Slam tournament by making it to the semi-finals at Wimbledon last year. However, he lost against Djokovic.

The Australian Open saw Chung Hyeon emerge victorious over Djokovic, making him the last player to defeat the Serbian tennis player. Djokovic suffered from an injury during the match, contributing to the straight-set loss in 2018.

After that, he has won the championship every time he has participated in Melbourne Park, but he was not able to protect his title in 2022 because he was sent away from Australia due to a disagreement about his Covid-19 vaccination status.

However, if there is anyone who is able to prevent him from winning in 2024, Sinner is likely the most suitable candidate for the task.

The highly skilled 22-year-old player who was ranked fourth, won two matches against Djokovic towards the end of last year. These wins gave him a lot of confidence and made him feel more positive about his abilities. He managed to beat Djokovic in the Davis Cup, which was the first time in 12 years that Djokovic had lost. They had both won one match each at the ATP Finals, so this win in the Davis Cup was particularly sweet for the young player.

Djokovic wants to make it to his fifth straight Grand Slam final, with his only loss being at Wimbledon in 2023. Sinner, on the other hand, is striving to reach his first-ever final, which would make him the youngest player to do so in the men's singles Australian Open since Djokovic did it in 2008.

"I have been training specifically for this, to compete against the top athletes on the global stage," expressed Sinner.

It's clear that he has an outstanding performance at this venue, making it enjoyable for me to compete against him, particularly in the later stages of the competition where things become more captivating.

"I'm excited for it. I anticipate it will be challenging, but I'm aware of that. I plan to focus on what I can control, such as giving it my all, maintaining a positive mindset, competing for each point, and then we'll have to wait and see what happens."

Medvedev & Zverev: Rivalry Rekindled

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tournament in the US Open final on Sunday. The first-ever encounter between Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev is scheduled to take place during the US Open final on Sunday, which is a significant event in the tennis world.

The Russian player, Medvedev, who is ranked number three, has a longstanding competition with Zverev. This particular event was highlighted in a full episode of the popular documentary series, Break Point, which just recently premiered on Netflix. Their upcoming match on the court will be a highly competitive one, as they both vie for a spot in the Australian Open finals.

Zverev, ranked sixth in the world, expressed his disapproval of Medvedev's conduct during their match in Monte Carlo last year. Despite being down two match points, the Russian made a remarkable comeback, but Zverev criticized him for being "one of the most unjust players in the world." Medvedev took a toilet break and left the court during a change of ends in the deciding set, which Zverev felt was dishonest.

At the age of 26, the German tennis player achieved his greatest victory at a major tournament by defeating the second-ranked Carlos Alcaraz in four sets during the quarter-finals. He has now reached his second semi-final at a major tournament, after experiencing a severe ankle injury at the French Open in 2022. This is also his first time making it to the semi-finals in Melbourne since 2020.

Zverev managed to achieve this feat within a two-week period where news broke that he will have to go to court in May for allegedly committing domestic violence against his former girlfriend. Although he denies the accusations, this revelation put his accomplishment into perspective.

For Zverev, the last few years haven't been too pleasant in terms of his competition with his 27-year-old fellow player, Medvedev. Medvedev, who previously won the US Open, managed to defeat the ninth seed Hubert Hurkacz in five sets. In the past twelve meetings between them, Medvedev has come out victorious in 10 of them, including five out of the six games played in 2023. As of now, Medvedev leads the head-to-head competition 11-7.

Zverev mentioned that he had many matches against Medvedev, where the results were very close. The reason behind Medvedev's success was his strong self-belief, which enabled him to give his best performance in tennis. On the other hand, Zverev was dealing with injury and did not have the same level of confidence as Medvedev during crucial moments of the game.

"He's definitely a tough opponent to face, no doubt about it. He's currently one of the top players in the world. I feel very pleased to have returned to this level of competition and to have emerged victorious in such challenging matches, which gives me the opportunity to strive towards success once more."

On Friday, Neal Skupski from Britain and his American partner, Desirae Krawczyk, will be competing in the final round of mixed doubles against Jan Zielinski from Poland and Hsieh Su-wei from Taiwan.

Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid, who are the highest-ranked players, will attempt to secure a spot in the men's wheelchair doubles championship by taking on the Japanese pair, Daisuke Arai and Takashi Sanada.

British athlete Andy Lapthorne and American teammate David Wagner will be competing in the semi-finals of the quad wheelchair doubles event. They will be up against Australian contestant Heath Davidson and Canadian Robert Shaw.