The 38-year-old beat the young Italian 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, and 6-4 in a marathon semifinal. By becoming the oldest player in the Open era to reach an AO men’s singles final, the 24-time Grand Slam champion will fight to lift the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup for an eleventh time on Sunday.

After the match, the Serbian said he was at a loss for words.

 “It feels surreal to be honest, playing four hours ... reminiscent of 2012 when I played Rafa (Nadal) in the final. The quality of the tennis was extremely high, and I knew that was the only way for me to have a chance to win tonight against him,” he said.

Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic. Photo: X/Australian Open

“He won the last five matches against me; he had my mobile number, so I had to change my number for tonight. I have tremendous respect for him. An incredible player, I mean, he pushes you to the very limit, which is what he did tonight to me.”

However, Djokovic will have to do it all again on Sunday when he plays Carlos Alcaraz in the final.  The Spaniard survived his semifinal against third seed Alexander Zverev in the longest Australian Open semifinal in history (6-4, 7-6(5), 6-7(3), 6-7(4), 7-5).

The world No 1 had to fight hard to secure the win and become the youngest player to reach all four major finals in the Open era.

In the third-longest match at Melbourne Park, the five-hour, 27-minute triumph kept the Spaniard’s bid for the career Grand Slam afloat.

“I always say that you have to believe in yourself no matter what,” Alcaraz said after the match. “No matter what you’re struggling with, what you've been through, no matter anything, you gotta still believe in yourself all the time.

“I was struggling in the middle of the third set. Physically, it was one of the most demanding matches that I have ever played in my short career, I would say, but I’ve been in these kinds of situations before,” he said.

OFM Sport/Ilse Smalberger cvs