Jannik Sinner becomes first player to beat Novak Djokovic four times in a row in 15 years

Jannik Sinner battled past Novak Djokovic in a blockbuster clash in the semifinals of Roland Garros on Friday, 6-4, 7-5, 7-6 (3).

He's now through to the final of the clay-court major for the first time.

But there's more.

Having won the pair's last three meetings as well, at the Davis Cup Finals in 2023 and at the Australian Open and Shanghai in 2024, Sinner is now the first player to defeat Djokovic four times in a row in 15 years, the last player to achieve the feat being Andy Roddick, who beat him four consecutive times between 2009 and 2010.

The Italian the fifth player ever to do it, after Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and, as mentioned above, Roddick.

PLAYERS TO BEAT DJOKOVIC 4+ TIMES IN A ROW (tour-level):

• Federer: 4x in a row [2006 Monte Carlo 1st Rd, 2006 Davis Cup RR, 2007 Australian Open 4th Rd, 2007 Dubai QFs]
• Nadal: 5x in a row [2008 Olympics SFs, 2009 Davis Cup RR, 2009 Monte Carlo F, 2009 Rome F, 2009 Madrid F]
• Tsonga: 4x in a row [2008 Bangkok F, 2008 Paris 3rd Rd, 2008 ATP Finals RR, 2009 Marseille SFs]
• Roddick: 4x in a row [2009 Australian Open QFs, 2009 Indian Wells QFs, 2009 Canada QFs, 2010 Cincinnati QFs]
• Sinner: 4x in a row [2023 Davis Cup Finals SFs, 2024 Australian Open F, 2024 Shanghai F, 2025 Roland Garros SFs]

Sinner, who was born in 2001, is the first player born in 2000 or later—or even 1990 or later—to achieve the very rare feat.

And now, a bonus stat: with his victory over Djokovic on Friday, Sinner has now won his last 20 matches in a row at Grand Slams—seven to win last year's US Open, seven to win this year's Australian Open and now six more to reach his first career Roland Garros final.

He's just the fourth man this century to go on a winning streak of 20 or more matches in a row at Grand Slams, after the usual suspects—the legendary Big 3 of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic.

MEN WITH 20+ WINNING STREAKS AT MAJORS SINCE 2000:

• Djokovic: five 20+ streaks [30, 27, 27, 27, 26]
• Federer: three 20+ streaks [27, 27, 20]
• Nadal: two 20+ streaks [25, 22]
• Sinner: one 20+ streak [20]

Djokovic's 30-match streak—where he won Wimbledon and the US Open in 2015 and the Australian Open and Roland Garros in 2016 before his run finally came to an end in the third round of Wimbledon—is the longest Grand Slam winning streak for a man in the Open Era.