It’s been a huge men’s semi-final day Friday with one magnificent show to watch just now at night and another that out to be both abruptly heartbreaking earlier in the afternoon but also rewarding too when it comes to that other winner who will now go step one closer for Sunday’s big dance.
This upcoming contest will see the best of the Australian Open Top 2 men’s seeders from this year’s edition as these two players who are still standing will be batting it out for that ultimate prize with the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup.
It’s No.1 seed & defending champion Jannik Sinner from Italy v 2nd seed German & 3 x grand slam runner-up finalist so far in Alexander Zverev.
Yes, it was heartbreaking to see Novak Djokovic calling it a day retired hurt straight after losing the first set via tiebreak. But at the same time, he had to do what’s best for him and therefore, Zverev deserves to take that opportunity instead of Novak, who had to take care with his body when he wasn’t able to last for throughout this whole afternoon.
Instead, the 1st semi was done immediately in just under 90 minutes. We wish Novak the best of luck with his recovery as let’s hope he is not done playing just yet where his partnership with coach Andy Murray is one of the best things to happen as of late – surely, this won’t go away until Novak feels like he doesn’t want to play anymore at 37-38.
For now, Zverev deserves a crack in the Final hoping to finally win his first grand slam championship at age 27 – it’s about time and there’s no better place to do it where first time winners were made here at Melbourne Park. Jannik Sinner was a good one when he made himself known to the entire world last year from defeating a veteran like Novak to finish off the tournament as a first-time champion.
Speaking of Jannik, that other other semi-final match at night was more like it who continued to shine left, right and centre whereas Ben Shelton fought back at times like Patrick Mahomes – as if he’s perfectly suited to American Football (NFL) but more as an individual athlete with a trainer closely on his corner than in a team.
At the end of the day though, Sinner always hold out the cards in straight sets with little problem finishing up a piece of craft he’s assembled from scratch.
And yes, it wasn’t Ben Shelton’s night tonight when he was unable to bounce back from an intense opening set battle that went all the way through to the tiebreak. But he did throw things away however at the same time that led to an easier and more extended lead by the Italian to sign him off as eliminated from the last 4 right there. There’s still more to come from the young 22-year-old American though and if Shelton does play in a Grand Slam Singles’ Final someday, then every one of his biggest games will be his own Super Bowl.
Now bring on back-to-back defending champion Aryna Sabalenka v another American Madison Keys for the women’s singles Final first up on Saturday night.
