Novak Djokovic says the rare Australian Open defeat inflicted by semi-final opponent Jannik Sinner was “one of the worst” Grand Slam displays of his illustrious career.
Serbia’s Djokovic lost in Melbourne for the first time since 2018 as Sinner ended his 33-match winning streak.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion was aiming to move clear of Margaret Court in terms of all-time major triumphs.
“It is not a very pleasant feeling playing this way,” said Djokovic, 36.
“But at the same time, credit to [Sinner] for doing everything better than me in every aspect of the game.”
Djokovic, who will remain as the men’s world number one despite the four-set defeat, won three of the four major tournaments last year in one of the best seasons of his career.
But he rarely played anywhere near the same level at Melbourne Park over the past fortnight and looked completely out-of-sorts against Italian fourth seed Sinner.
Djokovic made 54 unforced errors, in comparison to 32 winners, and was unable to create a single break point.
“I want to congratulate Sinner for playing a great match and a great tournament so far. He’s deservedly in the final. He outplayed me completely,” said Djokovic.
“I was shocked with 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.”
In the aftermath of his defeat by Sinner, Djokovic said he felt “hot-headed” and would find it difficult to reflect on his exit “in a more profound way” for at least few more days.
But he maintained that his objectives for the rest of the season will remain unaltered.
“I still have high hopes for the other Slams, Olympics, and whatever tournaments that I’ll play. It’s just the beginning of the season,” said Djokovic, who had won all 10 of his previous other Australian Open semi-finals.
“It’s not the feeling that I’m used to. It has been incredibly satisfying for me to start off most of my seasons with a Grand Slam win and never losing in the semis or final of the Australian Open.
“So this time it’s a bit different, but it is what it is. This tournament hasn’t been up to my standard or the level that I would normally play or expect myself to play.
“But it doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s beginning of the end as some people like to call it.”