Melbourne [Australia], January 30 (ANI): Serbian tennis icon Novak Djokovic produced some of his best tennis of the tournament, snapping his five-match losing streak against young Italian sensation and defending champion Jannik Sinner to reach the final of the Australian Open following a five-set epic at Melbourne on Friday.

Djokovic is now a step closer to his record-extending 25th Grand Slam title and an 11th in Melbourne. The Serbian great won against Sinner in a gripping battle, 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, which lasted over four hours, according to the ATP website.

The 38-year-old had dropped the first set and later slipped to a trail of two sets to one, and Djokovic, who had lost in the semifinals of all Grand Slams last year, looked for another exit. However, he saved 16 of 18 break points, dragging himself back into the match with his big-game experience. In the final awaits another young rival of his, Carlos Alcaraz, who is aiming to finally lay his hands on the Australian Open, a trophy that has eluded him despite his number one ranking.

Djokovic has yet to win a Grand Slam title since the US Open 2024, and since then, the meteoric rise of Sinner and Alcaraz has kept him away from the big trophies, with the duo having split past eight major titles between them. Djokovic denied the fourth-successive Sinner-Alcaraz final for a Grand Slam. Had Sinner won, he and Alcaraz could have become just the second pair in the Open Era to meet in four consecutive major finals, after Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, who did so between Wimbledon 2011 and Roland Garros 2012.

The Serbian enjoys a slender 5-4 lead over Alcaraz, but their last clash had seen him beat Alcaraz in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open a year back.

Earlier, Alcaraz also produced a display of extraordinary resilience to outlast third seed Alexander Zverev in the record over five-hour marathon Australian Open men's singles semi-final on Friday, booking his maiden AO final after two quarterfinal finishes.

In a five-hour, 27-minute marathon inside Rod Laver Arena on Friday, Alcaraz overcame physical distress and a fierce Zverev to prevail 6-4, 7-6(5), 6-7(3), 6-7(4), 7-5 in the longest semi-final in tournament history, according to the ATP website.

The gripping encounter was the third-longest match in Australian Open history and pushed both players to their absolute limits.

The 22-year-old top seed looked firmly in control early, racing to a two-set lead with composed serving and aggressive baseline play. The Spaniard, contesting his 10th Grand Slam semi-final and his first in Melbourne, also showed remarkable nerve in the second set, clawing back from 2-5 down to edge a tense tie-break.

The contest took a dramatic turn midway through the third set when Alcaraz appeared to suffer an upper right leg issue while serving at 4-4. He required on-court treatment and visibly struggled with movement thereafter, allowing Zverev to seize momentum and drag the match into a deciding fifth set after winning the next two tie-breaks.

Zverev capitalised on Alcaraz's reduced mobility and even broke serve early in the decider. The 28-year-old German later served for the match at 5-4, having saved multiple break points, seemingly on the brink of a career-defining victory.

However, Alcaraz summoned one of the finest comebacks of his young career. Moving more freely again, the 22-year-old reeled off four consecutive games with fearless shot-making and relentless intensity, stunning Zverev and the packed arena alike. He sealed victory when Zverev's final volley dropped into the net, before collapsing to the court in sheer exhaustion and emotion.

With the win, Alcaraz became the youngest player in the Open Era to reach the final of all four Grand Slams and moved one step closer to completing a career Grand Slam. (ANI)