On Friday, Novak Djokovic conceded that his shocking defeat by Jannik Sinner at the Australian Open was among his worst performances as a major slam competitor.
Following a 33-match winning streak that included four titles, Djokovic lost his first match at Melbourne Park in the semi-finals, 6-1, 6-2, 6-7, 6-3.
Djokovic expressed his thoughts after the loss and said: “First, I want to congratulate Sinner for playing a great match and a great tournament so far. He’s deservedly in the finals. He outplayed me completely today. I was, in a way, shocked by 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 I remember. It’s not a very pleasant feeling to play this way.”
Before the tournament, Sinner was viewed as the most likely opponent to defeat Djokovic, having defeated him twice in two weeks at the ATP Finals and Davis Cup in the previous season.
The 22-year-old advances to his maiden grand slam final, making history as the first Italian to compete in a singles final match. He recovered admirably from losing a match point during the third-set tiebreak.
Sinner said: “It was a tough match, especially when I lost the third set with match points. I just tried to stay as positive as possible, and it went my way today. I’m really happy. I think you won the matches not only on that day. You win it because you feel prepared for a good fight. You feel prepared mentally and 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. Some people talk a lot, but you have to show it.”
Sinner concluded his discussion and said: “This is tennis. I tried to be ready for the next set, which I started well. The atmosphere was so great. I was looking forward to this match. It’s always nice to have this kind of player who you can learn from. I lost last year in the semis of Wimbledon. I learned a lot from that. It’s part of the process. I’m really happy to share this with you guys and also with my team.”
Jannik Sinner after beating Novak Djokovic to reach first Grand Slam Final:
“It was a very tough match. I started really well. He missed for 2 sets. I felt like he wasn’t feeling great. I tried to keep pushing. In set 3 I had match point but I missed a forehand. This is tennis.… pic.twitter.com/bIW7qgNX9L
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) January 26, 2024
Novak Djokovic in 2024
WWWWLWWLWL At the moment ranked no.1, Novak played his last match on the 26th of January when he surrendered to world no.4 Jannik Sinner 6-1 6-2 6-7(6) 6-3 in the semifinal of the Australian Open (draw).
Currently, during this season Novak has a compiled 7-2 match record. Novak Djokovic’s latest run at the Australian Open was the best achievement of his season.
Djokovic is scheduled to play next in Indian Wells (BNP Paribas Open). He will start to play the tournament from the main draw that will commence on the 4th of March.
Sinner at the Australian Open, ranking, and results in 2024
LWWWWWWWWL Currently ranked no.4 (career-high), the Italian owns an overall 6-0 match record in 2024. Sinner is participating at the Australian Open where he bested the world no.59 Botic Van De Zandschulp 6-4 7-5 6-3, the world no.161 Jesper De Jong 6-2 6-2 6-2, the world no.29 Sebastian Baez 6-0 6-1 6-3, the world no.15 Karen Khachanov 6-4 7-5 6-3, the world no.5 Andrey Rublev 6-4 7-65 6-3 and the world no.1 Novak Djokovic 6-1 6-2 6-76 6-3.
Jannik Sinner will take on the world no.3 Daniil Medvedev in the final. The head to head is 6-3 for Medvedev.
Jannik won 11 titles in his career: 4 on hard courts, 1 on clay courts and 6 on indoor courts. (See the list of his titles)
Sinner will compete next in Marseille (Open 13 Provence). He will begin to play the tournament from the main draw that will commence on the 5th of February.
Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner faced off 7 times. The head to head is 4-3 for Djokovic. Before, the last time they squared off, Jannik Sinner won 6-1 6-2 6-7(6) 6-3 in the semifinal in Melbourne (Australian Open) on the 26th of January 2024.
In the following video you can watch the highlights.
