Novak Djokovic conceded his 415th grand slam match was one of his worst after being knocked out of the Australian Open in the semi finals.
Djokovic’s Australian Open winning streak came to an end after 2195 days, with Italian star Jannik Sinner stunning the 10-time champion in four sets and booking a spot in his first grand slam final.
Incredibly, it was the only completed grand slam match of Djokovic’s career in which he did not generate a break point on his opponent’s serve, which the 36-year-old said was indicative of his wayward form.
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“I was, in a way, shocked with my level, you know, in a bad way,” Djokovic said after congratulating Sinner on his performance.
“There was not much I was doing right in the first two sets (smiling).
“I guess this is one of the worst Grand Slam matches I’ve ever played. At least that I remember.
“Not a very pleasant feeling playing this way. But at the same time, you know, credit to him for doing everything better than me, you know, in every aspect of the game.”
Djokovic’s winning run had extended back to the fourth round in 2018, when he lost to Hyeon Chung.
Since then, he has won four more Australian Opens and is now gunning for his 25th grand slam singles title.
While Djokovic has said he wants to continue playing for as long as he’s at the top of the game, he did acknowledge he hasn’t taken his success at Melbourne Park for granted.
“The streak was going to end, you know, one day. It was going to happen, and, you know, at least I gave everything I possibly can under circumstances where I didn’t play well, and I lost to, you know, a player that has a very good chance to win his first slam. That’s all it is,” he said.
“But yeah, this has been a very special city, best, by far, Grand Slam of my career. Yeah, I just hope that I’ll get a chance to come back, yeah, to play at least another time and go through the emotions once more.”
Still, the world number one said he didn’t think it was “the beginning of the end” just yet despite the loss.
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