Javier Sanchez

Updated Friday, January 26, 2024-15:23

  • Chronicle Djokovic also disconnects and falls to Sinner in Australia: "It was one of my worst matches"

In the second set,

Novak Djokovic

approached his bench and, without stopping, hit the head judge's chair with a racket and broke a microphone. For him and his team it was a moment of hope. At the very least, the motivation, the ambition, the fire was still there. But it turned out to be a mirage. The Serbian, more subdued, confused and imprecise than ever, suffered this Friday his first defeat in the decisive phase of the Australian Open.

Until now, every time he reached the semifinals he took the title: 10 out of 10. This Friday

Jannik Sinner

beat him by a simple 6-1, 6-2, 6-7(4) and 6-3 and left everyone those present missed: Why? Nobody was able to answer the question.

Djokovic himself accepted that everything had been strange. «I was surprised by my level, I was in 'shock'. I didn't do almost anything right in the first two sets. As far as I remember, it was one of my worst games. "Playing like that was unpleasant," accepted the number one in the ranking, who also applauded his rival for having surpassed him "completely." Sinner, in fact, did not give him a chance to break and took him wherever he wanted. In recent months the two have met four times, twice in the ATP Finals, once in the Davis Cup and this Friday in Australia, and the Italian has emerged victorious on three occasions.

«In the first set I already saw that Novak was not hitting the ball as usual and it surprised me. He was less focused, he was having a bad day. "He is the best returner on the entire circuit and he has not achieved a single break ball, that statistic is very rare for him," analyzed Sinner, who in this Sunday's final will face

Daniil Medvedev

who beat

Alexander Zverev

by 5-7, 3-6, 7-6(4), 7-6(5) and 6-3.

Despite his pain in the previous competition, the United Cup, Djokovic wanted to rule out an injury to his right wrist as the culprit for his problems in Australia and announced a better version for the coming months. Now the Serbian will rest and then, now without restrictions due to the covid, he has confirmed his presence in the Indian Wells and Miami Masters 1000 in March, where he has not played since 2019. It is possible that he will play the ATP 500 in Dubai before, but not yet it's official. In any case, this Friday, after his defeat against Sinner, he wanted to take off the pressure for the next Grand Slam, Roland Garros, where he will arrive as current champion and favorite.

«If Nadal plays, he is always a favorite in Paris. There will also be Sinner and Alcaraz and, in fact, anyone in the top 10 of the rankings could win. We have to see how the players develop in the coming months, Roland Garros is very far away," commented a downcast Djokovic who, at the same time, denied the arrival of his decline.

Does not notice the sunset

At 36 years old and with 24 Grand Slams he still does not imagine himself retired, quite the opposite. For this season, as he has already admitted on multiple occasions, he has a goal beyond increasing his 'big' tally or his weeks at number one: gold at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. In Beijing 2008, London 2012 and Tokyo 2020 reached the semifinals and all three fell.

«I have great hopes for those Games and the next Grand Slam. I'm not used to this feeling because most of my seasons started with a victory in Australia, but it is what it is. I haven't been at my level, but it's not the beginning of the end. We'll see what happens for the rest of the year," proclaimed Djokovic, touched this Friday, but not forever.