When the sometimes pointless four hours and nine minutes of tennis finally came to an end, Novak Djokovic threw his hands in the air, smiled, and delivered the same winning walk at the back of the net as he had done 37 times before after a Grand Slam semifinal.
For Djokovic, who is over 40, plays part-time on the ATP Tour, faced with the reality that Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are younger, fitter and has improved as a tennis player over the past 16 months, this is a step he is not entitled to assume will succeed again.
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But even after all the titles, all the money and the unofficial title of greatest of all time, he still yearned to experience that walk again. And in defeating Sinner 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 in one of the most improbable Australian Open semi-finals ever seen, he was sending a message to his much younger rival, who had beaten him convincingly in their previous five meetings over two years.
“Thank you for allowing at least one.”
But at this stage of the game, Djokovic should rate himself more. Nothing was allowed. he just took it. And now he’s upped the historic ante to an outrageous level with just one win left. If he is able to finish work on Sunday, he will have achieved yet another record for the athlete who would have achieved every possible goal in winning Olympic gold in 2024. He has a chance to replace Ken Rosewall as the oldest player to win a major title in the Open Era.
And how to do it? He has to beat Alcaraz, but Alcaraz has a chance to become the youngest player to complete a career Grand Slam before the age of 23.
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After a very mediocre Australian Open, what was the drama?
If you’re wondering why the 38-year-old Djokovic is still pushing his aging body after 24 majors, 101 overall wins and 428 weeks at No. 1 in the rankings, you have your answer.
That’s because he thought that if he could extend his career a few more years, there might be an opportunity somewhere where the stars would align, even if he didn’t expect much in return.
And lo and behold, here they are.
Would Djokovic have been physically able to survive the five-set match against Sinner had he not suffered a walkover to 20-year-old rising star Jakub Mensik in the round of 16? Would he have had a chance to make it this far had Lorenzo Musetti not sustained an injury so severe that he had to retire after leading Djokovic in two sets in the quarterfinals?
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We’ll never know, but there’s no asterisk. That’s tennis. And Djokovic played a very smart tactical game, playing against Sinner at full capacity, using shots down the line to disrupt his opponent’s rhythm, and trying to load up with forehands every time he found a shot that could end a point.
Sure, he got help. In fact, Sinner, who had more overall points in this match (152-140), was as erratic as ever. He shot for break points multiple times in the fourth and fifth sets, but was unable to convert them and missed several routine forehands that he will regret when he replays the match in his mind. But then again, that’s the sport. Sinner had a bad day, but Djokovic played a key role in turning that bad day around.
Novak Djokovic (right) hugs Italy’s Jannik Sinner after the men’s singles semi-final. (Martin Keep/AFP via Getty Images)
(Martin Keep via Getty Images)
After hugging at the net, Djokovic turned to his chair and buried his head in his hands, often in an expression of despair about his career. But this time, when he showed up, there were smiles instead of tears. He really couldn’t believe what he had just done.
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None of us, including him, should take that for granted.
Because even if Alcaraz beats him on Sunday – and I’ll tell you the truth here, that’s it. should There was no guarantee that Djokovic would reach another Grand Slam final.
Age is real. For a tennis player approaching his 39th birthday, his physicality does not improve, especially when he has to survive on the court for more than four hours. It’s true that Djokovic reached the semifinals of all four Grand Slams last year, but after losing to Alcaraz in straight sets at the US Open, he came close to admitting that he could no longer compete at the level of the No. 5 match between Alcaraz and Sinner.
“I think we’ll have a better chance if it’s a best-of-three, but best-of-five is tough,” he said. “Having said that, I’m not going to give up on the Grand Slam in that regard. I’m going to keep fighting and get to the final and fight for at least one more trophy. But you know, it’s going to be a very difficult task.”
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Djokovic, reminded of Jim Courier’s words in Friday’s on-court interview, insisted he was not saying it was impossible.
But we can work on this problem. If Djokovic wins his 11th Australian Open and 25th major, it will seem like he is attempting the impossible.
Men’s tennis has never been more physically demanding and demanding than it is now. Sinner and Alcaraz have been in a world of their own for over a year now. Rather, they entered the semifinals in early 2026 projecting an image of being even more separated from the rest of the field. And in the quarterfinals, Djokovic never thought he still had the level of tennis to beat a player of Musetti’s level, let alone Sinner or Alcaraz. Barring Musetti’s injury, Djokovic is almost certainly back at home in Greece now.
But interesting things can happen to great people in history. Jack Nicklaus won the Masters in 1986, Tom Brady won the Super Bowl at age 43, and Nolan Ryan threw a no-hitter in his 40s.
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And this may truly be Djokovic’s last and best chance to take the No. 25 spot. It won’t be easy to recover from the five-set loss against Sinner, but defeating both of them in quick succession to win the Australian Open will be the greatest accomplishment of his career. This is probably the most interesting physical and mental moment Djokovic has ever experienced.
It will also be interesting to see how Alcaraz reacts after his impressive five-set escape against Alexander Zverev in the semifinals, a match in which he was affected by cramps and some discomfort in his quadriceps.
When they played in the 2024 Olympic final, it was similar to how a physically challenged Djokovic faced his final shot at gold — Alcaraz was stressed throughout and didn’t play his best, while Djokovic played free and aggressive. Experience and nerve gave Djokovic the gold medal.
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Well, time has passed. Alcaraz has re-emerged as No. 1 in the world rankings, has improved physically, matured mentally and is on the cusp of a career that could ultimately rival Djokovic. However, this will be his first time playing in a major tournament in his career. It will probably put a kind of pressure on him that he has never felt before.
If Djokovic is going to do it, now is the time.
After seeing what he conjured up to defeat Thinner, it’s probably best not to count him out.
