1987 Wimbledon champion Pat Cash thought that Novak Djokovic turned back the clock and looked "like the Novak of old" during an Australian Open semifinal win over Jannik Sinner.
On Friday, the fourth-ranked Serb registered his first win over Sinner since 2023 and also reached his first Grand Slam final since 2024 Wimbledon after completing a 3-6 6-3 4-6 6-4 6-4 victory in four hours and 12 minutes of play.
After dropping the fourth set, Sinner upped his aggressiveness and clearly wanted to go ahead early in the fifth set. However, Djokovic didn't crumble under the pressure, saving a total of five break points across his opening two service games. Then, the Serb claimed a break in the seventh game and saved three consecutive break points in the following game for a 5-3 lead before serving out for the match in the 10th game.
“It’s hard to put everything into words. Great serving from Djokovic, it kept him in the match so often. Sinner just could not break; his break percentage was ridiculously low for him," the 1987 Wimbledon champion said on BBC Radio 5 Live.
“Sometimes you have those matches where you can’t break, and it plays on your mind. Sinner threw everything at him in the fifth set. He came out swinging much harder, and it looked like his set. Novak hung on, and it was like the Novak of old.”
Cash: Can Djokovic's body recover for the Carlos Alcaraz match?
After overcoming the Sinner challenge, the 38-year-old faces another major challenge en route to winning the Australian Open.
“We saw it last year here, he beat Alcaraz – will it be the same? Can his body recover? I don’t think that is his concern right now; he is just happy to get to the final," Cash stated.
Alcaraz may be 16 years younger than Djokovic, but the Spaniard certainly won't be the freshest in the Australian Open, considering that he spent nearly five and a half hours on the court during a marathon semifinal win over Alexander Zverev.
If Djokovic beats Alcaraz, the Serb will win his first Grand Slam since the 2023 and become the first player in tennis history with 25 Majors in singles.
