Australian Open: John McEnroe 'amazed how flat' Novak Djokovic was amid 'changing of the guard' in Jannik Sinner loss

ByRob Hemingway

Updated 26/01/2024 at 14:40 GMT

A new name will be etched onto the Australian Open men's singles trophy this year, after Novak Djokovic's 33-match unbeaten run in Melbourne came to an end at the hands of Jannik Sinner. John McEnroe told Eurosport that he was "amazed" that Sinner had been the man on top from the outset, and wondered aloud if this result heralds the "changing of the guard".

John McEnroe says he was "amazed" at how flat Novak Djokovic was in his shock semi-final defeat to Jannik Sinner at the Australian Open.

Sinner dispatched the 10-time champion in Melbourne with relative ease, coasting through the first two sets for the loss of just three games, before closing it out in the fourth set despite squandering a match point in the third.

It will be Sinner's first major final, and he will take on Daniil Medvedev, after the No. 3 seed staged a memorable comeback to defeat Alexander Zverev in five sets.

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Speaking on Eurosport, McEnroe said: "The changing of the guard - when was that going to happen? We keep waiting for it. Djokovic has played Sinner, [Carlos] Alcaraz, he's risen to the occasion. And he was inspired, he said, by these players.

"When I played those young kids like [Pete] Sampras and [Andre] Agassi, I was inspired to stop playing quickly, because those guys were too good, so I give Djokovic a lot of credit.

"But I was amazed at how flat he came out and how it was Sinner - when would you have thought that Sinner would move - for me - better than Novak Djokovic in a best-of-five-set match.

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"So I was super impressed after he had match point and lost, that he was still able to gather himself and pull this out, really pretty convincingly in the fourth.

"I think he showed more than anything his mental toughness. To be that close and taste it, and Djokovic had the crowd getting into it, and here you go again with a guy that’s won it ten times. Now what?

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"And he stepped right back up as if it hadn't even happened; as if he won the tie-breaker. So I was super impressed that he pulled it together that quickly.

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He added: "I would bet my life savings that he was up to see who won that match [between Medvedev and Zverev]. He didn't go to bed, he was glued to see who he would play in the final."

Former British No. 1 Tim Henman, alongside McEnroe on Eurosport, gave his view on comparisons between Sinner and his similar-aged rival Alcaraz, who lost in the quarter-finals to Zverev, but who has won two majors already.

"Alcaraz is the most complete player, but Sinner, no doubt, is the most improved player," Henman said.

"His results in the last four to five months have been absolutely phenomenal. His record against top ten players - he’s only lost once of ten matches.

"He goes into this final with so much confidence."

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