Jannik Sinner was over the moon after beating Novak Djokovic and qualifying for the final of the Australian Open on Friday.
Djokovic's bid for a record 25th Grand Slam singles title was ended by a 6-1 6-2 6-7(6) 6-3 loss against Sinner in the semi-final.
“Yeah, awesome. I don’t know what to say really. I started off with a couple exhibition matches, trying to come here as prepared as possible. The confidence from end of last year has for sure kept the belief that I can play with the best players in the world,” Sinner said during the on-court interview.
“I’m really happy I can play Sunday my first final. Let’s see how it goes. But I’m really happy. I come here with a smile. I’ll try my best,” he added.
Fourth seed Sinner, who beat Djokovic twice in three matches at the end of last season, took advantage of 36-year-old opponent's shaky serve and error-prone backhand to convincingly win the opening two sets.
Sinner was in control of the third set as well but Djokovic raised his game to stay firm until the tiebreak. However, the Italian fluffed a match point, while also losing the set, to give his opponent a lifeline.
But Sinner didn’t let that affect his game and broke for a 3-1 lead in the fourth set and ran away with the match.
“It was a very tough match. I started really well. He missed for two sets. I felt like he wasn’t feeling great. I tried to keep pushing. In set three, I had match point but I missed a forehand. This is tennis. I tried to be ready for the next set which I started really well,” Sinner added.
“The atmosphere was so great. I was looking forward for this match. It’s always nice to have this kind of player who you can learn from. I lost last year in the semis of Wimbledon. I learned a lot from that. It’s part of the process. I’m really happy to share this with you guys and also with my team.”
At 22 years and 163 days, Sinner is also the youngest men’s singles finalist at the Australian Open since Djokovic in 2008.
Sinner is the first Italian player in tennis history to reach the singles final at the Australian Open.
Sinner will face either third seed Daniil Medvedev or sixth seed Alexander Zverev in Sunday´s title match.