Jannik Sinner announced himself as a grand slam force in stunning fashion by becoming the first player in six years to defeat Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open.
The 22-year-old Italian was seen as the most likely rival to stop Djokovic claiming an 11th title in Melbourne ahead of the tournament after beating him twice in two weeks at the end of last season at the ATP Finals and Davis Cup.
But surely no one would have predicted the manner of the first two sets of this semi-final, with an error-strewn Djokovic winning just three games.
He saved a match point in the third-set tie-break to give himself hope but there was no dramatic comeback, with Sinner regrouping impressively and going on to clinch a 6-1 6-2 6-7 (6) 6-3 victory after three hours and 22 minutes.
The fourth seed moves through to a first grand slam final while Djokovic, who had not lost here since a fourth-round defeat by Hyeon Chung amid elbow problems in 2018, must lick his wounds, with a record 25th slam title proving beyond him for now.
The result was, of course, a shock given Djokovic’s incredible record here – this is the first time he has ever lost having made it beyond the quarter-finals – but it was the Serbian’s display that was the most surprising.
He committed 54 unforced errors and did not even make Sinner use his haymaker groundstrokes that often, the Italian instead able to maintain a very high but comfortable level and not facing a single break point.
Djokovic struggled with illness at the start of the fortnight and had a tougher passage through to the last four than usual, losing three sets along the way.
Sinner, the first Italian to make an Australian Open singles final, had not dropped a set all tournament, and he started as he meant to go on, breaking the Djokovic serve to lead 2-0 with a searing forehand followed by a drive volley winner.
By contrast, nothing was working for Djokovic, with routine shots landing in the net or out of court, while he was also struggling on serve.
Sinner broke again to lead 5-1 and wrapped up the first set with just over half an hour gone.
Djokovic is a master at pacing himself in best-of-five-sets tennis and he would certainly not have panicked having lost only two of the last 17 slam matches in which he dropped the first set.
But the pattern of the match continued in the same vein, with more Djokovic errors helping Sinner break for 2-1 in the second set.
Djokovic whipped up crowd support after saving a break point at 2-4 in fine style but Sinner broke anyway two points later and served out the set.
Two years ago at Wimbledon, Sinner led Djokovic by two sets to love only to lose in five, so he knew very well that the match was far from over.
Djokovic, who had barely showed any emotion, clenched his fist after saving a break point in the opening game of the third set, and he at least managed to serve better.
At 5-5 and deuce on the Serbian’s serve, a medical emergency in the crowd forced a delay for several minutes, but Djokovic held his nerve on the resumption.
The world number one knew it was now or never in the tie-break, and he opened up a 4-2 lead, but Sinner surged back, creating a match point at 6-5 but netting a forehand, and a backhand over the baseline two points later gave Djokovic a lifeline.
He was still hanging on, though, saving three break points in the second game of the fourth set only to then be broken from 40-0 two games later.
Djokovic forced Sinner to serve it out but the Italian did not waver, clinching the biggest win of his life with a forehand winner.
'Tough to accept' retirement of idol Nadal, says Alcaraz
Carlos Alcaraz found it difficult to accept the news of Rafael Nadal's impending retirement, saying the 22-time grand slam winner inspired him to turn professional.
On Thursday, Nadal confirmed next month's Davis Cup finals will be the final event of his glittering career, having struggled with injuries throughout a difficult few years.
Plenty of comparisons have been drawn between Alcaraz's stunning emergence and that enjoyed by Nadal at the start of his own career.
Alcaraz won his first grand slam title as a 19-year-old at the 2022 US Open and has since gone on to claim three further major crowns. Nadal, meanwhile, is the only man in the Open Era to win multiple grand slams both before the age of 20 and after turning 30.
The pair teamed up to play doubles at the Paris Olympic Games earlier this year, reaching the quarter-finals before losing to eventual silver medallists Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram.
Speaking after he suffered a surprise defeat to Tomas Machac at the Shanghai Masters on Thursday, Alcaraz appeared to still be digesting the news of Nadal's retirement.
Asked about the video Nadal posted to social media announcing his decision, Alcaraz said: "When I watched it, it was tough to accept it.
"I was in shock a little bit. I saw it like one hour before the match, so I had time to accept it and forget it a little bit before the match.
"It is a really difficult thing, really difficult news for everybody, and even tougher for me. He has been my idol since I start playing tennis. I look up to him.
"Thanks to him, I really wanted to become a tennis player. Losing him, in a certain way, is going to be difficult for us, so I will try to enjoy as much as I can when he's going to play.
"But we are going to play in Saudi Arabia, and then the Davis Cup, so I'm going to try to enjoy the time with him as much as I can, but, yeah, it is a shame for tennis and for me."
Nadal spent much of his career competing with fellow legends Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, with the sport's 'Big Three' winning 66 grand slam singles titles between them.
World number one Jannik Sinner, speaking after his win over Daniil Medvedev in Shanghai, said tennis' current crop of contenders should not be placed under pressure to replicate the achievements of that trio.
"We cannot compare us with them, that's impossible... They have been very consistent for years... not only one or two seasons, they made it for 15 years," Sinner said.
"What they have done over the years has been amazing. There are not many things to say about pressure, the pressure is always going to be there.
"They have been very consistent throughout years and years and years. There are a lot of things what we can take from them.
"I think we all were very lucky to see the Big Three playing tennis. I consider myself very lucky to get to know them also as people and to learn from them."
Writing on X following Nadal's announcement, the Italian said: "Thank you Rafa for everything you have given to the sport.
"To have the chance to spend a few weeks training with you a few years ago is something I'll never forget. To watch you work as an athlete but also get to know you as a person off the court was even more special. You will be missed on the tour!"
Rafael Nadal retires: The King of Clay's career in numbers
The day tennis fans across the globe had feared was coming for some time has finally arrived, with Rafael Nadal confirming his impending retirement on Thursday.
Nadal had previously suggested 2024 was likely to be his final year on the ATP Tour after struggling with injuries throughout a difficult few years.
The Davis Cup Finals, set for Malaga in November, will now be the final event for one of sport's all-time greats.
Here, we delve into the Opta data to run through the best facts and figures from Nadal's astonishing career.
The records
Across the ATP and WTA Tours, only Margaret Court, Novak Djokovic (24 each) and Serena Williams (23) have won more singles grand slam titles than Nadal's 22 in tennis history.
An astonishing 14 of those triumphs came at the French Open (more on that event later), which is the most of any player at a single major in history. Djokovic's 10 Australian Open titles are the second-most by anyone at a particular grand slam.
Nadal's first grand slam title came at the 2005 edition of Roland-Garros, while the 2022 season saw him triumph in the French capital and at the Australian Open, speaking to his remarkable longevity.
He is the only player to win at least one major in 15 different calendar years, and between 2005 and 2014, he never ended a season without a grand slam title. No other player in the Open Era has won at least one major in 10 consecutive seasons.
Nadal ended 13 different years in the top two of the ATP World Rankings, more than any other player throughout the Open Era.
He is also the only player in the Open Era to win multiple grand slam crowns both as a teenager and when aged over 30, and the only player since 1990 to win more than five ATP Masters 1000 finals before turning 20 (boasting a 6-1 record) and since turning 30 (8-3).
The rivalries
Nadal's exploits are even more impressive when one considers the competition he faced throughout his career, being a part of tennis' 'Big Three' alongside Djokovic and Roger Federer.
The other members of the 'Big Three' (Djokovic – 37, Federer – 31) are the only players to compete in more men's grand slam finals than Nadal in the Open Era (30).
Djokovic (257) and Federer (224) are also the only men to have won more matches against top-10 opponents than Nadal (186) since the ATP Rankings were first published. Nadal has played 289 matches against such opponents (third-most) and his win ratio of 64.4% is the fourth-best among players with a minimum of 100 such victories.
Nadal and Federer, in particular, enjoyed many titanic tussles through the years, not least the 2008 Wimbledon final, which the Spaniard won 6–4 6–4 6–7 (5–7) 6–7 (8–10) 9–7 in four hours and 48 minutes, a match regarded by some as the greatest of all time.
The duo faced off 40 times before the Swiss great retired in 2022, with Nadal edging their head-to-head 24-16 overall and 14-10 in finals.
Djokovic, meanwhile, is the only player to beat Nadal at all four majors, winning 31 of the pair's 60 all-time meetings.
The King of Clay
While Nadal enjoyed success on all surfaces and at all four majors (plus the Olympic Games), it is Roland-Garros that will be remembered as his tournament.
Nadal's unbelievable 96.6% win rate at the French Open (112 wins from 116 matches) is the best of any player at a grand slam event in men's singles, with only Djokovic (twice), Robin Soderling and Alexander Zverev beating him at the tournament.
Nadal's 112 French Open wins are the most of any man at a single major in the Open Era, while his 14-0 record in Roland-Garros finals is the best recorded by anyone at an event in that span.
His dominance on clay extended beyond Paris, though, with Nadal's total of 63 career clay-court titles are more than anyone else in the Open Era, with Guillermo Vilas second on 49. His win percentage of 90.5% (484-51) on clay is also the best of any player on any individual surface in the Open Era.
At the peak of his powers, Nadal managed an incredible 81 consecutive victories on the surface between 2005 and 2007 – the longest streak on a single surface in the Open Era.
Only three tournaments have been won more than 10 times by the same player in the Open Era – Roland-Garros (14), Barcelona (12) and Monte-Carlo (11), all by Nadal on the clay.
It was perhaps fitting, then, that Nadal's final match at the very top level – at the Paris Olympics in July – saw him soak up the adulation of the Court Philippe-Chatrier crowd following a hard-fought defeat to old rival Djokovic.
Current French Open champion Carlos Alcaraz may be the pretender to Nadal's throne, but the title of 'King of Clay' will surely always be his.
Alcaraz denied Shanghai reunion with Sinner after stunning Machac win
Tomas Machac shocked Carlos Alcaraz to tee up a Shanghai Masters semi-final against Jannik Sinner.
Alcaraz beat Sinner to win the China Open title last week, and a rematch against the world number one looked on the cards with the Spaniard going up against the world number 33.
Yet Machac had other ideas and prevailed 7-6 (7-5) 7-5 on Thursday.
It brought up Machac's second win over a top-five opponent, after the Czech defeated Novak Djokovic at the Geneva Open earlier this year, only to lose to Casper Ruud in the final.
Reflecting on his win, Machac said: "I was playing unbelievable. I knew my level of tennis today would be great because I'm playing the best of my career right now for sure.
"I beat Tommy Paul [in the] last match with an unbelievable performance. With these kind of players, I have to play at this level. Otherwise, it's 6-2 6-3 and you go home. There's no other option.
"I knew that I had a chance [to beat Alcaraz], but you never know, even with a set and 5-4 it's still so far from winning the match. I played great tennis against him in the Davis Cup [in September], but there was this level [for] only one set. Today it was [for] two, so it was enough."
Data Debrief: Giant killers
From the round of 16 onwards, two players ranked outside the ATP's top 20 (David Goffin and Machac) have claimed top five wins at the Shanghai Masters for the first time in the event's history.
Since the inaugural event in 2009, meanwhile, Machac is now the fifth player ranked outside the ATP's top 30 to reach the last four at the Shanghai Masters after Feliciano Lopez, Juan Monaco, Kei Nishikori and Gilles Simon.
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