Australian Open ATP Semi-Finals Round-up | Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic come through five-set battles to book spot in final

The Australian crowd were treated to a brace of five-set classics, along with millions in the world watching the top four players in the world produce some world class tennis in the semi-finals at the Australian Open.

It began with Carlos Alcaraz reaching a first Australian Open final with a topsy turvey match againsy Alexander Zverev just going his way before Novak Djokovic completed an incredible result against Jannik Sinner. The final is set between Alcaraz and Djokovic, with Sunday's matchup set to be watched and admired around the world.

Djokovic came into the match firmly as the second favourite, with Sinner looking to reach a third consecutive Australian Open final. Despite the odds, Djokovic completed one of his finest performances on the big stage to come out on top 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.

From the early stages, it looked like Djokovic was in deep trouble. Sinner was not missing with his first serve in the early stages, and he was letting rip with it. Two very commanding holds were sandwiched with a crucial break, with Djokovic not yet arriving in this tennis match.

He did eventually pick up his game, but the damage had been done in the early stage. Sinner would continue to pressurise him on serve while against it he had just one break point to get back level but could not convert. Sinner’s serving numbers were absurd. He successfully got 22 first serves from 26 points, winning 86% of them with six aces thrown in the mix.

The second set was also dominated by both players serve, but this time it was showcased by the Serbian who won 86% of first serve points. There was a key part of the set in the fourth and fifth game which turned it firmly in the favour of Djokovic.

After failing to take a brace of break points, Djokovic was not going to rue those missed chances. He sailed into a 3-1 lead before it looked like all that hard work had been for nothing when the Italian raced into 0-40 lead. Djokovic turned up the heat when he needed it most, winning five consecutive points to go 4-1 ahead. After surviving another scare later in the set, he was back on level terms with a commanding hold. It was his first set won in this event since round three, and the first set against Sinner in 11 attempts, showing the strangle hold Sinner had over him.

He continued to put his rival under pressure, regularly creating openings where he could capitalise off. However, he did not. The set plateaued as it got to the business end, with both looking to get that pivotal advantage. It was the 24-year-old who completed this, with him winning eight of the last nine points in the set to take the third set and move within one of a sixth consecutive Grand Slam final.

Djokovic was not letting it finish there. We had already experienced a glorious five-set match before this one, and the Serbin fans in the Rod Laver Arena were desperate for another. When it looked like Sinner had taken control, a break right at the start of the set kept Djokovic firmly interested. Both players expertly held throughout the rest of the set, with Sinner squandering two break points late on. Djokovic survived and took his third set point.

It was a 53rd five-set match for Djokovic, who had previously come out on top in 41 of them, with his last coming back in the 2024 French Open against Francisco Cerundolo. He would be hoping to add another to this tally to become the oldest Australian Open finalist, but he would be under fire with Sinner charging.

In his opening two games on serve, Djokovic fended off five break points. In contrast, Sinner won 12 of his 13 points on serve. Somehow, Djokovic is still on level terms at 3-3, still playing some mind-blowing tennis. The tables would turn as the Serbian found the breakthrough, finally cracking the Sinner serve.

That had looked like the final nail in the coffin by Djokovic, but Sinner came charging back, going 0-40 ahead as he looked for all that’s worth to get the set back to square one. Nevertheless, Djokovic was not relenting. He won five consecutive points survive a precarious situation, and moving one game away from reaching an 11th Australian Open final.

As the match hit the fourth hour mark and went into an incredible fifth, Sinner held to love to keep in the hunt, but his major title ambitions were falling away. Djokovic created two match points, and miraculously saved them both, including what looked like a huge forehand winner from Djokovic. Not to worry, as he claims his third match point to reach a first major final since the US Open 2023. It is one of his finest performances against Sinner who played at a very high level for over four hours, but he managed to get the job done as he bursted out with emotion at the end.

Before this match, Alcaraz had already booked his spot in the final, but it was not easy, He was engulfed in a classic against Zverev, who looked to have had the advantage late on, but a determined Alcaraz managed to comeback and win 6-4, 7-6(5), 6-7(3), 6-7(4), 7-5.

The first set would take 40 minutes to complete. Not only that was the shortest set of the match by some distance, but it was the only one under an hour. Alcaraz waited late to take it, breaking right at the end to take a slim advantage over his German foe.

Zverev was not going to allow the world number one to bully him around. He was looking to make it successive Australian Open finals, with a maiden Grand Slam possibly closing in. He broke to make it 4-2 in the second set but when serving it out was pegged back by Alcaraz. He then survived two break points before a hold to love to create the first of three tiebreaks occur. It was the closest, with Alcaraz running away with it at the end.

There would ne no breaks of serve in the next two sets as both players started to settle on their serve. This included three consecutive holds to love in the premature stages. As the score went to 5-4 in Alcaraz’s favour, cramp started to settle in, and it would prove to be costly. While Zverev was arguing with the officials over a medical timeout, he would have the last laugh when he took a stricken Alcaraz to a tiebreak, comfortably seeing him off.

He was looking to get a firm foothold in this match and missed two break points halfway through the fourth set. These were the first break chances of any kind since right at the start of the third set. With the Spaniard getting over the cramp, he had the chance to get the job done in the tiebreak. Nevertheless, this match’s destiny was for it to go the distance. After leading 4-3, Zverev racked off the remaining points to continue this thriller in front of an exhilarated Rod Laver Arena.

He prolonged this fine purple patch with a hugely important break of serve right at the forefront of the set. If Alcaraz wanted to get to the final of the fourth and final Grand Slam on his list, he would need to pull a rabbit out of the hat.

As the set went on, it seemed less likely that Alcaraz was going to conjure up this magic trick normally performed by him on court. However, he was able to do it at the most clutch time: when Zverev was serving for a spot in the final. He broke back to level the score at 5-5, before two games later creating a match winning opportunity. He made no error in this, sending a forehand down the line before collapsing to the ground in exhaustion and relief to win the longest Australian Open semi-final, and one of the best matches witnessed at Melbourne Park.