"This is one of the worst Grand Slam matches I've ever played" - Novak Djokovic 'shocked' with his level after Australian Open SF loss

Novak Djokovic has termed his Australian Open semifinal performance against Jannik Sinner as one of his worst-ever at the Grand Slam level.

Djokovic suffered a 6-1, 6-2, 6-7(6), 6-3 loss to Sinner at Rod Laver Arena on Friday, January 26. He had his serve broken five times during the match and committed 54 unforced errors.

Moreover, he was unable to earn a single break point on Sinner's serve. After enduring his first ever semifinal loss at the Melbourne Major, Djokovic applauded the Italian for a dominant show.

"I want to congratulate Sinner for playing a great match, great tournament so far. He's deservedly in the finals. He outplayed me completely today," he said during the post-match press conference.

The 10-time Australian Open champion admitted to being staggered by his level of tennis on Friday. He said:

"Look, I was, in a way, shocked with my level, you know, in a bad way. There was not much I was doing right in the first two sets. Yeah, I guess this is one of the worst Grand Slam matches I've ever played, at least that I remember.

"Yeah, 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."

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Novak Djokovic says he "tried" and "fought" against Jannik Sinner at Australian Open

Novak Djokovic addresses the media: Australian Open 2024

During the post-match press conference in Melbourne, Novak Djokovic suggested that he tried his best to come up with the goods but eventually couldn't do enough to cross the line before Jannik Sinner. He said:

"I tried, I fought. I managed to kind of raise the level a little bit in the third, saved match point, played a good tiebreak. But again, you know, the fourth set, very bad game to lose, you know, 40-Love up on 1-2, and kind of against the wind a little bit. Yeah, just overall the performance-wise level of my tennis was, you know, really not great.

"I guess in those moments you just try to, you know, find the serenity, but at the same time try to uplift, you know, yourself and your game. That's what I tried."

Djokovic also acknowledged the support from the crowd at Melbourne Park.

"And the crowd was great. I think they were really fair towards both players. Lots of support for both Jannik and I. That's all. You know, congratulations to him," he added.

This was the Serb's first defeat in the Melbourn Major since 2018, bringing an end to a 33-match winning streak.