The clock at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne was inching towards two in the morning when Jannik Sinner’s backhand sailed outside the tramline to give Novak Djokovic one of his finest victories and a place in the final of the Men’s singles of the Australian Open for yet another time. He has won the title a record 10 times and is now in a position to win the 25th major title if he can overcome the fleetness, speed, power and some cheeky, innovative shots that Carlos Alcaraz produces just for fun. Alcaraz has beaten Djokovic in straight sets in Wimbledon and after this marathon clash with Sinner, will Novak have enough left in the tank for another famous win? There will be many rooting for the Serb for it’s clear that both Alcaraz and Sinner are at a different level than the rest and it takes a humongous effort to beat them at a major, where it is a best of five sets encounter.

Djoko’s good fortune

Yes, there’s also the element of good fortune which came Djokovic’s way when his fourth-round opponent gave him a walkover and his quarter-final opponent Lorenzo Musetti, who was leading by two sets, had to retire with an injury. That meant Djokovic was relatively fresh when he took on Sinner in the semi-finals.  The way he hung in there for every point tells of the determination that makes the greats never give up and believe that extra effort and self-belief is the one sure way to overcome adversity.