Jannik Sinner may be a poster boy for Gucci, but the Italian has proven on the tennis court that he has the substance to back up the style.

The 22-year-old ended Novak Djokovic's Australian Open dominance with a stunning semi-final victory on Friday and is now within touching distance of his first Grand Slam.

Sinner inflicted the all-conquering Djokovic's first defeat in Melbourne since 2018, proving that the rising tennis generation actually has the game and the bottle to beat the old guard.

A win in Sunday's final would take the multi-talented Sinner to a whole new level, with many years ahead of him to cement his place in tennis history.

Sinner combines tennis skills and looks that have earned him collaborations with the luxury fashion house Gucci and the iconic Italian car brand Ferrari.

He is in a relationship with stunning model and influencer Maria Braccini, but chooses to keep their relationship very private.

She has a closed Instagram profile and Sinner rarely posts photos of them together, both preferring private life, something that may be tested as his face grows.

Despite his young years, Sinner already has an estimated new value of $12 million [£9.46m] and this weekend's Australian Open success will earn him another $2.1 million [£1.65m] in prize money.

The victory will also delight Sinner's devoted fan base, known as the 'Carota Boys' or 'Carrot Boys' after his red hair.

Born in August 2001 in San Candido, a small town in northern Italy near the Austrian border, Sinner grew up in modest surroundings with parents Hanspeter and Siglinde, and was a ski champion as a boy.

He has a brother, Mark, but details about the family are scarce. They are rarely seen during his matches and his social media is dominated by endorsement deals and professional images from the field.

Sinner shared a rare photo of him and his brother in 2019, but fans find the family's dynamics mysterious, even though they are widely seen as hard-working people with strong moral values.

Sinner, who now lives in Monte Carlo, has a similar private relationship with his girlfriend Braccini.

The model, who has 103,000 followers on her private Instagram page, has been described as 'introverted' and 'fiercely private', often keeping a low profile around the bright lights of Sinner's burgeoning career.

Braccini watched him at Wimbledon, but managed to avoid the cameras, something Sinner seems happy about.

But back to Sinner's early life, and things could have turned out so differently if patience had been applied to his skiing career.

'Skiing is a very common sport to practice where I am. There are a lot of ski slopes literally right outside my front door,” Sinner once told ATPtour.com.

'I remember the first time I went skiing. My brother had some lessons and I saw him and I wanted to go, but my mother told me, “Not today.”

“I kept crying to her and asking, and then she said, 'Okay, let's do this.' They expected me to go one day and then I would go home. But I stayed all day until they closed the slopes. After that I went every day and loved it.”

Sinner was a natural talent, far superior to many children his age, and he soon became one of the best junior skiers in Italy.

Skiing was number 1. Football was number 2. Tennis was number 3.

Trophies soon came rolling in, competition after competition, but at the age of 13, Sinner, who had dropped football at the time, began to feel physically inferior on the slopes.

“One year I won a lot of trophies skiing, but the next year I felt the others were so much stronger physically,” he added.

'I went out twice and didn't feel comfortable anymore. I really loved tennis because everything came from my side. I had my head under control, which is very difficult when skiing.'

One of his early ski coaches praised his “mountain mentality,” which he has since been able to apply to tennis. But now he was all about tennis.

Sinner, wise beyond his years, chose to leave home at the age of 13 to really make a success of tennis. He left friends and family behind and left, determined to turn pro.

'When I left home at the age of thirteen, I dreamed of becoming a professional. Seven years later I am in the top ten,” he reflected in 2021.

Riccardo Piatti's academy in Bordighera, Italy, was where Sinner would end up and their relationship was almost paternal in nature.

Claudio Pistolesi, the 1985 world number 1 junior, once told ATPTour.com that Sinner's unconventional route to the Tour, via the ski slopes, helped – not hindered him.

“Like Lorenzo Sonego, who played football until he was 14, he broke all the rules you follow from an academy perspective because he played another sport at a good level,” Pistolesi said.

“He brings some lateral skills to tennis by skiing his movements around the court, and he automatically steps into the ball.”

His rise continued to where the Association of Tennis Professionals named him Newcomer of the Year in 2019, before becoming the first player born in the 2000s to break the top 10 in 2021.

Last year he reached his first Slam semi-final at Wimbledon, but was defeated by Djokovic in straight sets.

The player nicknamed 'The Fox' caused a stir at SW19 by walking onto the pitch with a personalized Gucci bag.

In addition to posing for Gucci photo shoots, Sinner has lucrative collaborations with Nike, Head, Rolex, Gucci, Lavazza, Alfa Romeo, Technogym and Parmigiano Reggiano.

Continuing the theme of Italian cool, Sinner recently got behind the wheel of sleek Ferrari sports cars during a visit to the brand's famous base in Maranello.

Since he speaks Italian, German and English, it's no wonder brands consider him highly marketable.

This time, however, the tables were turned for Djokovic as Sinner triumphed in four thrilling sets and even managed to overcome the disappointment of a missed match point in the third.

Now the immensely talented Sinner has a first Slam success within reach.

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• Nick Kyrgios made an impressive commentary debut
• He mentioned Novak Djokovic's match against Dino Prizmic
• Fans were blown away by Kyrgios' insight

By Ollie Lewis for Daily Mail Australia

Published: 04:46 EST, January 14, 2024 | Updated: 09:49 EST, January 14, 2024

Goran Ivanisevic has seen it happen so many times over the past four years.

His star pupil, Novak Djokovic, shows up on the practice court in a bad mood, complaining that his game is a disaster, that he needs to get better… at everything. His serve, his attacking play, even his backhand – one of the best backhands tennis has ever seen – it’s all a mess.

There is hardly any recognition for the CV, the 24 Grand Slam titles, the 74 other tour trophies and more than 1,000 match victories. He needs to improve, otherwise he’s done.

“He’s crazy,” Ivanisevic said of Djokovic, shaking his head, midway through last year, when Djokovic was in the middle of another of the best seasons any tennis player has ever had and still whining at his coach every time. .

Very good tennis players often express a desire to try to improve themselves, and Djokovic is no different. But it’s one thing to say it, and it’s another to actually do it, especially after reaching the pinnacle of the sport time and time again.

In 2015, Djokovic stormed through perhaps the most ridiculous tennis campaign any man has ever experienced. It’s the season Djokovic often mentions when asked to choose the best version of himself. That’s happening a lot now because he’s challenged the debate about the greatest man of all time – the only person who can compare Djokovic anymore is Djokovic.

He has won the most Grand Slam titles, the most Masters 1,000 titles, which are the second biggest events on the men’s tour, and has spent more weeks (406 and counting) at world No. 1 than anyone else .

He reached all four Grand Slam finals in that 2015 season, winning three (losing to Stan Wawrinka at the French Open). He went wire-to-wire as world number 1. He played in 15 consecutive finals and won 11. There was then a ‘Big Four’ that also included Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Murray. Djokovic went 15-4 against those three and was 4-0 against Nadal, his top rival.

Normal behavior after such a season is to just keep doing what works. Djokovic isn’t exactly exhibiting normal behavior, and he’s not really playing tennis today like he did in 2015, when he defended the court like few others could, then pulled rabbits out of the hat and won so many points that he had no business winning.

That’s a far cry from Djokovic’s winning formula last season, the one he will likely use to kick-start his 2024 in Australia this month. All of Djokovic’s best seasons have one theme: They start in January in Australia, where Djokovic is on the verge of winning an 11th Australian Open men’s singles title. Last year he won his 10th, the most in history.

He describes Australia as his “happy place,” a country where he is finding his feet, and nothing – not even pulled or torn muscles – can take him out. He hasn’t lost a match at the ‘AO’ in six years.

“It is important to have the right start, a kind of start for the rest of the season,” he said during the United Cup, the mixed team competition he played before the first Grand Slam of 2024. “The more you win in a particular tournament, the more comfortable and confident you will feel each time you arrive.”

But Djokovic’s success is about so much more than good karma. It’s about figuring out how to change his game to accommodate his aging body, which he recognizes no longer moves as well as it used to, and to keep up with the evolution of a sport that now has many is less friendly to defenders who want it. chase balls across the back of the field and pull rabbits out of hats.

With the top players hitting with more power and precision than ever, it has become increasingly difficult to defend all day, rather than trying to take the initiative and score points, at the highest level.

Djokovic has had three truly epic years: 2011, 2015 and 2023. In each of them, he won three Grand Slam finals and many other trophies.

Luckily for us, his last epic season before 2023 took place just after the revolution in advanced tennis analytics, allowing for a revealing deep dive into Djokovic then and now.

The statistics are the byproduct of ball and player tracking data collected via high-speed cameras and analyzed in real time using technology developed by a British company, TennisViz, and Tennis Data Innovations (TDI), a joint venture of the ATP Tour and ATP Media.

These combined efforts have provided fans, players and coaches with information previous generations could never have dreamed of, revealing whether a player is attacking or defending on every shot; the quality of those shots based on speed, spin and landing spot; how often they win points they shouldn’t – their so-called steal score; how clinical they are on endpoints they should win; and how often they win the all-important grassroots battles that have become so much of modern tennis.

The data tells the story of Djokovic’s evolution, from someone who specialized in winning tennis wars of attrition, to someone who now looks to attack at virtually every opportunity.

In numerical terms, the changes may seem incremental at first glance, but in a sport that yields a handful of points in every match, seemingly small changes can lead to big differences. Remember, Djokovic has won 14 of his 24 Grand Slam titles since 2015.

It starts with the serving.

Djokovic’s serve is almost unrecognizable from 2015. All props to Ivanisevic, who had a deadly serve in his playing days and has worked tirelessly with Djokovic since 2019 and achieved surprising results. Djokovic’s first serve averaged 190.1 miles per hour in 2023, up from 115.4 in 2015.

That’s not about improved racket technology or lighter balls. The tour average has hardly changed and has increased from 186.1 km/h to 116.7 km/h.

Djokovic’s serve is not only faster, but also lands in better places: five centimeters closer to the lines in 2023 than in 2015, and eight centimeters closer than the tour average. That’s important no matter what surface he’s playing on, but it can be especially powerful on the slick, fast surfaces of Melbourne Park, where serves at the sideline corners slide off the pitch almost immediately.

Djokovic has long been one of the greatest serve returners in tennis history. He can do that better now. His return of his opponent’s second serve landed on the backhand wing with 47 percent of the points in 2023, compared to 39 percent in 2015, putting him in a much better position to attack.

After the points took shape last season, Djokovic took an attacking position 26 percent of the time, compared to 21 percent in 2015. Tennis geeks call a player’s ability to win points from an attacking position the “conversion rate.” Last season, Djokovic’s conversion rate was a clinical 72.1 percent, a top in the sport and 3.3 percentage points higher than his 68.8 percent conversion rate in 2015. The tour average is 66 percent.

How did he become so clinical? His forehand has gotten two miles per hour faster in the last eight years. That helps.

In addition, his attacking position was 60 centimeters further up the field than in 2015, meaning he is hitting the ball much earlier than before, suffocating opponents by stealing fractions of seconds from their recovery and preparation times.

The result of his increasing aggressiveness was a decrease in how much he had to defend, how many balls he had to chase and how many rabbits he had to pull out of his hats. Tennis nerds call this a player’s “steal score,” the percentage of points a player wins after being in a defensive position.

As exciting as it is to win back a point that seems lost, it is tiring and tough on a 36-year-old body. No one knows that better than Djokovic.

In 2015, Djokovic and Nadal jointly led the sport with a steal rate of 43.3 percent. That’s kind of crazy to think about: almost half the time their weaker opponents had Djokovic and Nadal on the run, those poor, overmatched souls still lost the point.

Last season, Djokovic’s steal rating was a much less prodigious 36.4 percent, still above the tour average of 34 percent and a lot kinder to those 36-year-old knees. In other words, he’s still better than most at making magic happen when necessary, but he’s become so much more efficient that he wins without expending as much energy.

It’s a logical strategy for any growing parent. Federer has become more aggressive, and Nadal has tried to do the same, coming to the net to score points when opportunities present themselves. But Djokovic has been more successful than both, winning many of the sport’s biggest titles at this point in his career.

For opponents, there is really only one solution: attack before he attacks, let him run and force him to play more defensively, as he did during his previous tennis life.

Easier said than done of course.

The winning formula has Djokovic setting big goals for 2024. “It’s no secret that I want to break more records and make more history,” he said. “That is something that continues to motivate me.”

He wants more Grand Slam titles, an Olympic medal, which has somehow eluded him, a Davis Cup with Serbia. He enjoys beating the young players: players who are two tennis generations removed from him and who cannot understand how he has refused to give up.

Djokovic suffered a wrist injury during the United Cup. But anyone assuming he is holding him back should remember that he won the Australian Open last year with a seriously injured hamstring that Ivanisevic said most other players would have retired from and, in 2021, with an abdominal muscle tear.

“I know what I need to do to keep my body and mind in the optimal state so that I have the opportunity to break records and progress,” Djokovic said.

He still loves tennis, but winning remains the main motivation, especially when he is on the road for weeks and away from his family.

“That mentality won’t change until 2024 or any subsequent year I play,” he said.

How he actually plays the game may be another, ever-evolving story.

Just ask Ivanisevic.

(Top photo: Manan Vatsyayana/AFP via Getty Images)

Alex de Minaur is enjoying the biggest win of his career after proving the doubters wrong by guiding Australia to the semi-finals of the United Cup with a stunning straight-sets defeat of world champion Novak Djokovic.

De Minaur’s win also raised concerns about Djokovic’s ability to win an unprecedented 11th Australian Open crown this month after the Serbian was treated for a persistent wrist injury during his uncharacteristically flawless performance.

While Djokovic struggled, De Minaur was on fire from the start of Wednesday night’s match. He won 6-4 6-4 in 93 minutes to give Australia a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three-match quarter-final.

Ajla Tomljanovic secured victory for Australia and a place in the semi-finals with a 6-1 6-1 victory over world number 184 Natalija Stevanovic in a 64-minute masterclass.

Higher-ranked Olga Danilovic was scheduled to play the women’s singles for Serbia but withdrew due to fatigue.

Although De Minaur defeated Rafael Nadal at the United Cup last year, the victory over Djokovic is even more important as the 36-year-old is still at the peak of his powers after winning three of the four slams in 2023.

It also represents De Minaur’s first victory over the world No. 1.

‘It’s incredibly special. Novak is an incredible competitor,” de Minaur said after breaking the super Serb’s 43-match, six-year winning streak in Australia.

“It feels surreal, it feels amazing. I’m glad I can do it here in Perth and Australia.’

Djokovic entered the match under an injury cloud after damaging his wrist during practice on Tuesday morning.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion said the injury affected him during Wednesday night’s match but he hopes it will not affect his Australian Open campaign.

“It had quite an impact (tonight), especially on the forehand and serve,” Djokovic said.

“Again, I don’t want to spend too much time talking about it and taking credit away from De Minaur.

“I mean, he was just really solid, as always. Congratulations to him, to the Australian team.”

De Minaur was defeated 6-2 6-1 6-2 by Djokovic in the fourth round of the Australian Open last year, but it was a different story in Wednesday evening’s rematch.

The 24-year-old’s frenetic pace and astonishing agility continually frustrated Djokovic, who made 31 unforced errors during the match as he battled wrist pain.

Djokovic received treatment after being broken in the ninth game of the first set, but that did little to stop De Minaur’s attack.

The Australian secured his second break of the match in the seventh game of the second set when Djokovic made a double fault.

De Minaur had three match points at 40-0 and 5-4, but he blew them all away, including a nerve-wracking double fault.

But he earned a fourth match point and secured victory when Djokovic sent a backhand long.

De Minaur has spoken of his desire to be known as more than just a player who can move well from side to side, and the use of his backhand slice during the United Cup has been a big weapon.

His powerful winners were also a highlight.

“It’s because a lot of people don’t believe in me,” De Minaur said of his motivation for bringing his new weapons to the fore.

“I’m just here to prove a lot of people wrong, in an effort to be better.

‘Ultimately, I will never be the biggest or strongest man, so I have to adapt.

‘I have to show that I have variation in my game and that I have different tennis styles.

‘I’m happy that I was able to bring this level today.’

Novak Djokovic overtook Zhang Zhizhen 6-3, 6-2 to give Serbia a 1-0 lead in the group match with China.

New Delhi: Novak Djokovic started the season the way it ended. He won his match to give Serbia a 1-0 lead over China on Sunday in a preliminary league match of the United Cup mixed team tennis tournament. In his final match of the previous season, Djokovic defeated Jannik Sinner in the final of the 2023 ATP Finals to defend his title.

On Saturday, in his first match of the new season, the number 1 of the ATP rankings passed Zhang Zhizhen 6-3, 6-2 to give Serbia a 1-0 lead in the group match with China in Perth. Djokovic was rock solid in all facets of his game as he completed a 74-minute triumph in his first head-to-head ATP meeting with Zhang.

“It’s great to be back in Perth,” Djokovic said as he addressed the crowd. “It’s New Year’s in a few hours, so I really appreciate you hopefully coming to celebrate New Year’s Eve with us here on the field. It’s been ten years since I’ve been to Perth, and this arena is definitely one of the most beautiful, both inside and out, I’ve played in.

“Obviously Australia has been my happy place. The place where I have had the most Slam wins is Melbourne, and I would love to come back. I missed playing in Perth too,” he said.

Djokovic converted three of the seven break points he earned to surprise the Serbian contingent in the stands of the RAC Arena. Since the beginning of 2007, he is now 17-1 in season-opening games.

The 36-year-old Djokovic has one more match before the calendar year ends when he teams up with Olga Danilovic in the mixed doubles later on Sunday evening.

Before then, China will be hoping to get back into the draw quickly as they look for a place in the quarter-finals on their United Cup debut. The Asian nation will watch WTA world number 15 Zheng Qinwen, who next meets number 104 Danilovic in the WTA singles match, as it looks to confirm its first 3-0 victory against the Czech Republic.

“I was a little rusty in the beginning, a little out of rhythm in the first five or six games, but that’s normal,” Djokovic said after the match. “When you don’t play an official match for more than a month, it obviously takes some time to get the engines going and he served well. I think the service from my end was great. “Every time I wanted to get myself out of trouble, at 15/15 or 30/30 in my service games, I found a good serve,” he said.

Virat is now the third highest run-scorer in the entire history of the Cricket World Cup. In 36 matches he scored 1,731 runs at an average of 61.46, with a best score of 117.

New Delhi: Tennis star Novak Djokovic congratulated Virat Kohli on reaching the historic milestone of his 50th ODI century. The former India captain surpassed legendary batsman Sachin Tendulkar when he played against New Zealand in the first semi-final of the ongoing World Cup.

In the match, Virat scored 117 in 113 balls, with nine fours and two sixes. His runs came at a strike rate of over 103. This is Virat’s eighth score of over fifty of this tournament, including three centuries. He has overtaken Sachin and Shakib’s total of seven such scores at the 2003 and 2019 World Cups respectively. While Sachin had just one century from these seven knocks, Shakib had two.

Tennis star Novak Djokovic took to his ‘X’, formerly known as Twitter, to congratulate Kohli on the milestone, here is the tweet:

Congratulations @imVkohli Legendary https://t.co/3TgMXkbWcx

— Novak Djokovic (@DjokerNole) November 15, 2023

In 10 matches of this tournament so far, Virat has scored 711 runs at an average of over 101 and a strike rate of over 89. His best score is 117. Virat has scored three centuries and five fifties in 10 innings in this tournament. He is also the highest run-getter in the tournament so far. Virat also has the most runs in a single Cricket World Cup edition, surpassing Sachin’s record of 673 runs in the 2003 edition of the tournament.

Virat is now the third highest run-scorer in the entire history of the Cricket World Cup. In 36 matches, he scored 1,731 runs at an average of 61.46, with a best score of 117. He has scored five centuries in his World Cup career so far, including 11 fifties.

Coming into the match, India opted to bat first and scored 397/4 in their 50 overs. Skipper Rohit Sharma (47 in 29 balls, with four boundaries and four sixes) and Shubman Gill (80 in 66 balls, with eight fours and three sixes) provided a fine start with an opening stand of 71 runs.

Virat Kohli (117 in 113 balls, nine fours and two sixes) posted his 50th ODI ton, while Shreyas Iyer (105 in 70 balls, with four boundaries and eight sixes) scored his second consecutive World Cup century to help India post a huge score to obtain . KL Rahul also delivered a 20-ball cameo of 39 runs, with five fours and two sixes.

Now he has shown his mettle on grass, against the best players in the most prestigious tournament in the world. At a ceremony on the pitch after the game, Djokovic, who burst into tears when he talked about his son, graciously praised Alcaraz. He noted that, yes, he knew Alcaraz would be an instant force on red clay and blue paint. Now also grass? Already?

“I didn’t expect him to play so well on grass this year,” said Djokovic. “But he has proven that he is without a doubt the best player in the world. He plays fantastic tennis on different surfaces and he deserves to be where he is.”

Even before the racket smash, there was a long moment when Djokovic might have gotten the signal that he was in for a challenging few years.

With Djokovic serving at 1-3 in the third set, the two men played a 32-point match with 13 deuces that lasted over 26 minutes. Both players ran and dived and made great shots, and the spectators screamed in delight at the extraordinary play and guts on display.

“The guts Alcaraz showed was absolutely remarkable,” said Evert.

Finally, after Djokovic hit a forehand into the net, Alcaraz had broken the serve again. He put his finger to his ear and asked the audience for more noise, and Djokovic needed to know. For as many years as he can hold out, Alcaraz will probably be there too, even on grass.

“I think it’s good for the sport, 1 and 2 in the world face each other in a nearly five-hour, five-set thriller,” said Djokovic. “Couldn’t be better for our sport in general.”