World No. 1 Novak Djokovic experienced an unexpected defeat against fourth-seed Jannik Sinner in the Australian Open 2024 on January 26. Djokovic, not displaying his usual form, lost the first two sets but managed to secure the third set in a tie-breaker. However, he faced another loss in the fourth set, marking his first-ever defeat in a semi-final at the Australian Open. T
The 10-time champion expressed his frustration with his performance during a press conference, acknowledging that he was displeased with the way he played. Sinner’s formidable power posed challenges for Djokovic throughout the match, causing the legendary tennis star to struggle for momentum.
“He outplayed me completely. I was shocked with my level in a bad way.. this was one of the worst Grand Slam matches I’ve ever played. At least that I remember,” Djokovic said in the press conference after the match.
Djokovic candidly discussed his form issues throughout the tournament, highlighting the Round 4 match against Adrian Mannarino as the only one where he felt he played perfectly. Before the Mannarino match, Djokovic had dropped sets against unseeded Dino Prizmic (Round 1) and Alexei Popyrin in Round 2. Djokovic had earlier revealed he was dealing with illness but later mentioned feeling better after the Round 4 game.
Reflecting on his overall performance in the tournament, Djokovic admitted, “To be honest, you know, the whole tournament I haven’t really played close to my best. Match maybe against Mannarino was great, but most of the matches I was, yeah, not playing up to par, so to say, the way I play here in Australia normally.” Despite reaching the semifinals, Djokovic expressed disappointment, stating, “One can say semifinals is a great result, of course, but I always expect, yeah, the highest of myself, and it wasn’t meant to be today.”
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