Brad Gilbert Exposes Jannik Sinner’s ‘Kryptonite’ After Australian Open Defeat to Novak Djokovic

Jannik Sinner has yet to win a match that has exceeded three hours and 50 minutes. He has so far played nine matches that have lasted over three hours and 50 minutes, and surprisingly, he lost all of them.

The semifinal match against Novak Djokovic in the recently concluded Australian Open ended after over four hours. Djokovic finally ended his five-match losing streak against the four-time Grand Slam champion.

Last year, Sinner featured in the longest French Open final, which lasted four five hours and 29 minutes. The 24-year-old squandered a two-set deficit as well as three championship points to lose the thriller to defending champion Carlos Alcaraz. Because of his 0-9 win-loss record in longer matches, Coco Gauff‘s former coach, Brad Gilbert, while discussing the Djokovic-Sinner match on The Big T Podcast, exposed the Italian ace’s kryptonite.

I thought he [Djokovic] was playing Pete Sampras-like. The way he was serving, leaving space to the forehand and uncorking these massive running forehands, and maybe he had lost the last five, maybe playing a little defensive, and he was like, ‘I’m going out on my front foot, and I’m playing uber aggressive’. But I also felt like Sinner was the better player and didn’t win. Two out of 18 on break points, 0 out of eight in the fifth set, and his kryptonite 6 and 11 in his career and five-setters. And how about this: 0 and nine in his career in matches that go 3 hours and 50 minutes long.

Sinner was bidding to win his third consecutive title. Had he won, he would have become the second man in the Open Era to complete the three-peat of the Melbourne Slam after Nole.

Martina Navratilova explains why Jannik Sinner lost to Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open semifinal

At the Australian Open, Jannik Sinner failed to reach a Grand Slam final since the 2024 Wimbledon, where Daniil Medvedev knocked him out in five sets in the quarterfinals. The win helped Novak Djokovic improve his head-to-head record to 5-6.

During the match, Sinner converted just two of the 18 break points against the 24-time Grand Slam champion. Later, 18-time Major singles champion Martina Navratilova said that failing to convert those break points eventually led to Sinner’s defeat.

Well, it’s clear as day. Break points won. I mean, if Sinner converts any of those early break points in the fifth set, he could have won the set 6-2. Instead, Novak cashed it in. Sinner was trying to go to the Novak backhand a little too much. I think he should have run him around the court more, but look at the winners. Plus 26 for Sinner, but those numbers just don’t mean anything.

Martina Navratilova told Tennis Channel

Before facing Sinner, the last time Djokovic had won a set was against Botic van de Zandschulp in the third round. His fourth-round opponent, Jakub Mensik, withdrew before the match, while his quarterfinal opponent, Lorenzo Musetti, retired mid-match after winning the first two sets. In that same interview, Navratilova also discussed Djokovic’s retirement.

And how did the conversation change so quickly? Against Musetti, down two-sets-to-love, Musetti gets hurt. He played terrible. I mean, Novak played terrible. That was the worst match I’d seen him play in years. Then he comes out here, if he had lost in three sets or four sets, we’re still like, well, maybe the time has come. Instead, he’s now in the conversation not just here but for the rest of the year.

Djokovic, in the final, lost to Carlos Alcaraz in four sets. It was the first time he made a Grand Slam final since his defeat to Alcaraz in the 2024 Wimbledon final.

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