I bet Carlos Alcaraz didn’t expect that.

Novak Djokovic fans around the world are rejoicing after his epic win, possibly one of his greatest triumphs in the semi final match up with reigning champion Jannik Sinner in Melbourne Park at the Australian Open. The crowd were on fire as Djokovic broke Sinners serve is the fifth game of the fifth set and then went on to win the match 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4. It is the first time he has defeated Jannik Sinner in the last 6 meetings and will go on on Sunday 1st Feb, 2026 to challenge for his 11th Australian Open Title as his opponent attempts the Golden Slam, winning all four Grand Slam Titles in one year.

The TV subscription with TNT sports discovery plus to watch matches like this is £30 per month, I looked online today for the final of the Australian open and it costs on special offer £25.49 for a Eurosports package but this does not include the “premium experience” basically the tennis so you have to pay the full £30.99 for 30 days.

You can cancel immediately once the event you want to see is over to incur no further charges but how many under 18’s are denied the chance to watch at these prices let alone the adults.

Thanks goodness for BBC sounds who provide live match commentary for free. Many would say it’s just not the same for sports where the visual is such a big part of the experience however when you listen to a fantastic commentator the excitement can be just as thrilling when you train yourself to create the visual in your mind.

The two ladies commentating (it says online) were Clare McDonnell and Gigi Salmon who cover the tennis for BBC sounds, to me it sounded like Annabel Croft was in the mix too anyway they are so good, fast, descriptive and truly do allow you create the action in your head. I couldn’t find the exact line up credits for this particular match however these voices represent the core BBC Sounds/Australian Open audio team — so the commentary on Djokovic vs Sinner would most likely have featured Gigi Salmon and Russell Fuller calling play, with expert insight from Annabel Croft, Pat Cash, and possibly David Law among others.

It was an amazing match I thoroughly enjoyed thanks to the BBC commentators. It’s a different experience for sure, and would I prefer to watch on TV of course but I grew up listening to cricket on the radio, in the car, a sport I don’t even follow or enjoy, and then horse racing and basketball when TV wasn’t an option so maybe that gave me the training to follow a match from live commentary alone.

It does feel a little bit old fashioned when technology is so advanced to still be huddled around the wireless, well actually with AirPods and an iPhone but you know what I mean.

If the £30.99 charge is out of reach for you and you can’t get value to justify the charge because you don’t want to watch every match of the tournament I really do recommend downloading the BBC sounds app and tuning in for the big match up.

It takes a bit of time to train your brain to the new format, you have to visualise the match yourself but once you get the hang of it, it can be as uplifting and exciting as watching on screen. And when the person you are rooting for pulls off the unthinkable well then the joy is exactly the same as watching on TV or for those lucky enough being right there courtside.

Personally I think the TV companies are missing a trick. If they offered an option for just one match and charged a one time more reasonable fee of day £10 come semi finals and finals day they’d have a lot more subscribers.

I think for many, especially kids £30.99 if you only want to watch a final is just too high.