‘Belief’ propels NextGen ahead of old-guard

Jannik Sinner ended defending champion Novak Djokovic's bid for a record 25th Grand Slam title on Friday, snapping the Serb's astonishing 33-match winning run at Melbourne Park to reach his first major final.

Following his stunning victory, Sinner mentioned the new generation of tennis stars all share a belief in their ability, and that's what makes them shine.

Sinner beat the 10-time champion 6-1, 6-2, 6-7 (6/8), 6-3 on Rod Laver Arena to set up a title decider against third seed Daniil Medvedev, who fought back from the brink to defeat Alexander Zverev 5-7, 3-6, 7-6(4), 7-6(5), 6-3 on Friday in a thrilling semifinal.

It means there will be a new name on the trophy this year.

Sinner, 22, and 20-year-olds Carlos Alcaraz and Holger Rune are spearheading a young generation aiming to unseat the old guard, still headed by Djokovic, who won three of the four majors last year.

Alcaraz, who exited the tournament after being stunned by Alexander Zverev in the quarters, already has two Grand Slams under his belt while Sinner has a chance to win his first at Melbourne Park on Sunday.

"We are a little bit, me, Carlos, and Holger, every one of us is a different player," he said. "I feel that also mentally everyone is different, and attitude on the court is different.

"But what I think we have in common is we believe in ourselves in one way, and this helps a lot because in tennis when you believe, it's a huge amount already."

The Italian said the younger players were fortunate to have 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic as a role model.

"We have to be really lucky to see him around, that we can see what he's doing, how he's practising," he said.

The fact that Sinner is mature enough to know that he is still yet to take the final step was portrayed in his subdued celebrations after dethroning Djokovic, and later when the Italian said: "Obviously, it means so much to me to beat Novak here in Melbourne, but in the other way, I know that the tournament is not over."

Meanwhile, Djokovic termed his performance yesterday as one of the worst he had produced in more than 400 Grand Slam matches.

"He outplayed me completely today," the Serbian said.

"I was shocked at my level in a bad way. There was not much I was doing right in the first two sets. I guess this is one of the worst Grand Slam matches I've ever played. At least that I remember. To be honest, the whole tournament I haven't really played close to my best."