Getty Image / Andy Cheung
If you’re a 90s baby, it seems like Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic have been dominating tennis since we were old enough to pay attention. But, with young-gun Jannik Sinner beating Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open Semifinals (6-1, 6-2 6-7 (6) 6-3) early Friday morning Eastern Time, we may be seeing another sign of the passing of the torch to the next generation.
Considering it was on the court, Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia, where Djokovic has seen his most success in his career, and it’s an even bigger sign that the 36-year-old may finally be losing a half-step.
Sinner was nearly flawless on Friday. Djokovic, often considered the greatest returner of serve in tennis history, never even had a break point opportunity against the 22-year-old Italian.
The only blip on the radar was on match point in the third-set tiebreak, when Sinner dumped an easy forehand into the net. The Joker won the next two points to take the tiebreak, 8-6. But, when Sinner broke Djokovic to go up 3-1 in the fourth set after being down 40-0 in the service game, it was his to lose.
Roger Federer retired from tennis in September 2022, and Rafael Nadal has been battling injuries and is playing sparingly of late. The three of them have combined for a staggering 66 Grand Slam wins. Djokovic (24), Nadal (22), and Federer (20) are far out in front of the next closest, player, Pete Sampras.
Those three were so dominant that two entire generations of players never really won anything. But, this young generation, led by two-time Slam winner Carlos Alcaraz and Sinner look to finally be the ones to finally end the reign of the Big Three.