Novak Djokovic branded his defeat by Jannik Sinner to end his long unbeaten Australian Open run as one of the worst performances of his career.
The world number one’s 6-1 6-2 6-7 (6) 6-3 loss in the semi-finals was his first at Melbourne Park since a fourth-round defeat by Chung Hyeon in 2018, ending a 33-match streak taking in four titles.
Djokovic made 54 unforced errors, dropped serve five times and, for the first time in a completed grand slam match, did not create a single break point.
“First I want to congratulate Sinner for playing a great match, great tournament so far,” said the Serbian, who had been chasing a record 25th slam title and 11th here.
“He’s deservedly in the finals. He outplayed me completely today. I was, in a way, shocked with my level, in a bad way. There was not much I was doing right in the first two sets.
“I guess this is one of the worst grand slam matches I’ve ever played. At least that I remember. Not a very pleasant feeling playing this way.”
Sinner was seen as the most likely rival to stop Djokovic ahead of the tournament after beating him twice in two weeks at the end of last season at the ATP Finals and Davis Cup.
The 22-year-old moves through to a first grand slam final, becoming the first Italian to reach a singles decider here, and he regrouped impressively after missing a match point in the third-set tie-break.
“It was a tough match, especially when I lost the third set with match points,” said Sinner. “I just tried to stay as positive as possible, and it went my way today. I’m really happy.”
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.
But he is a master at pacing himself in best-of-five-sets tennis and finding his best when it matters so it was a shock to see him so off colour in the first two sets especially.
“The whole tournament I haven’t really played close to my best,” said Djokovic. “In a way it did surprise me, because I thought it won’t be that bad in the first two sets.
“But, on the other hand, I didn’t feel really myself on the court during this tournament. One can say semi-finals is a great result, of course, but I always expect the highest of myself.”
There is no doubt the hierarchy in men’s tennis is finally changing, with Sinner, who had not dropped a set prior to this match, now following up Carlos Alcaraz’s Wimbledon final victory over Djokovic with his own grand slam breakthrough.
The Italian is a much more understated character than his fellow young gun but he projects a quiet confidence that has grown noticeably in the last six months.
“I think you win the matches not only on that day,” he said. “You win it because you feel prepared for a good fight. You feel prepared mentally and also physically.
“I think after last year, especially the end of the year, it gave me confidence that I could potentially do some good results in grand slams. But you still have to show it. There are people who talk a lot, but you have to show it.
“But, if it’s not this year, it’s next year, and then if it’s not next year, it’s the next year again. I’m really relaxed. I just try to work as hard as possible and in my mind I feel like the hard work always pays off in one way, and we are working really hard for our dreams.
“Obviously I’m really happy about Carlos, what he has made and what he is doing. When we play it’s always a good match-up, but at the moment we also have to say that he is further than I am.”
Djokovic will turn 37 in May and, while no one will be writing him off, there is no doubt this is a big blow, with the Serbian having won the title on all 10 previous occasions on which he had reached the last four in Melbourne.
It also emphasises his incredible record here, with Djokovic saying: “I’m kind of hot-headed right now. After the match it’s very difficult to reflect on things in a more profound way.
“Maybe tomorrow, maybe in a few days’ time, but I definitely have a lot to be very proud of in terms of what I have achieved here. The streak was going to end one day.
“This has been a very special city, best, by far, grand slam of my career. I just hope that I’ll get a chance to come back, to play at least another time and go through the emotions once more.
“I still have high hopes for other slams, Olympics, and whatever tournaments that I’ll play. It’s just the beginning of the season.”
Osaka crashes out of Libema Open, De Minaur through to semi-finals
Naomi Osaka crashed out of the Libema Open despite fighting to a tie-break in the final set, with Bianca Andreescu progressing to the semi-finals after a 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (7-3) win.
Osaka's match was interrupted by rain early on with her in the lead, but Andreescu came back out in top form to take the first set.
The Japanese raced through the second though, taking a 5-0 lead before holding off Andreescu's fightback to go into a decider.
Despite an impressive comeback to force a tie-break in the final set, Osaka became sloppy, with her mistakes contributing to the Canadian's path into the semi-final, where she will face Dalma Galfi.
Elsewhere, Alex de Minaur is through to the semi-finals after a comfortable straight-sets victory over Milos Raonic.
Despite a long break due to bad weather, the Australian eased into the next round with a 7-5, 6-2 victory on Friday.
He will face either Ugo Humbert or Gijs Brouwer in the next round.
Data Debrief: Osaka not close enough, De Minaur in cruise control
Despite winning more points (98 compared to 94), and winning more games (16 to 15), Osaka could not hold her nerve in the tie-break to reach the semi-finals.
Competing as the top seed for the first time in his tour-level career, De Minaur felt no pressure as he rallied in the second set to ensure Raonic would not find a way back into the match, winning his last five games in a row on his way to victory.
Federer hopes Djokovic, Nadal and Murray 'can keep playing forever'
Roger Federer expressed his hopes for former rivals Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray to "keep playing forever", insisting the ATP Tour is "better with them".
Federer called time on his glittering career in 2022, while the other three - who between them formed tennis' 'big four' - appear not to be far away from joining him in retirement.
Nadal, who will miss Wimbledon to focus on his "last Olympics", and Murray are expected to hang up their racquets this year, with the latter revealing in February that he does not "plan on playing much past this summer".
Meanwhile, 24-time major winner Djokovic is also likely be absent from the grass-court major, having undergone knee surgery following his withdrawal from the French Open last week.
Now in their late 30s, all three players are certainly at the twilight of their remarkable careers.
But Federer, who says the quartet all now "get on super well" after years of rivalry, hopes they are not finished just yet.
"I really don't think there are any words of advice that I can give him," he told BBC Sport. "Retirement is so deeply personal. When you take that decision, everybody is in a completely different circumstance.
"We've gone through similar things, but I'm too far away to give advice. If [Andy] called me up, I'd be happy to answer some questions. He's had this massive hip issue and what he is doing is inspirational.
"I hope Andy, like Rafa and Novak, can keep playing forever, like a fan. The tour is better with them. I was watching Roland-Garros last week, and I was like: 'Wow, they're so good - I used to do that too!'
"It's tricky sometimes and there’s definitely moments when you don't like a certain opponent, but then you like him so much. It's important to remember this as a player - it is just tennis and, in the end, we can be normal.
"You see us being super friendly with each other after the rivalry, and we get on super well."
Raducanu cruises into Nottingham Open quarter-finals after dominant Snigur win
Emma Raducanu cruised into the quarter-finals of the Nottingham Open with a straight-sets victory over Daria Snigur on Thursday.
After making her return from injury in the previous round, Raducanu made light work of the match, winning 6-2, 6-2 as her preparation for Wimbledon continued.
Despite a bright start from Snigur, which saw her break the Briton's serve in the opening game, she could not hold off Raducanu's challenge as she reeled off six games in a row to win the first set.
With her confidence back, Raducanu secured two breaks in the second set to ease through and will face Francesca Jones or Ashlyn Krueger in the next round.
Data Debrief: Raducanu easing back to full threat
After a slightly shaky first round against Ena Shibahara, Raducanu looked a confident figure on the court as she dispatched Snigur.
Her serve proved a highlight as she served 11 aces in the second set, and had a 70 per cent win rate on her first serve throughout the match.
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