Novak Djokovic’s Worst Performances at the Australian Open

Atharva Upasani | 27/01/2024
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Novak Djokovic suffered a defeat at the hands of Jannik Sinner at the Australian Open 2024. The Serbian superstar was unbeaten at the Melbourne Park since 2018. The 36-year-old was on a 33 matches winning run coming into the match against the Italian. However, Djokovic could not get a win against the 22-year-old tennis hotshot.

Talking to the press after his loss, Novak Djokovic described his performance as one of his worst ever at Grand Slam stage. The Serbian admitted that he did not feel at his best throughout the competition but also praised Sinner for his incredible performances. Although Novak Djokovic did manage to win a set during his 6-1 6-2 6-7 (6-8) 6-3 defeat, he could not manage to get a single break point against his Italian rival. This defeat will surely go down as one of his worst Australian Open performances.

Novak Djokovic was shocked by Andy Roddick in the Australian Open semi-final in 2009. The defending champion, Djokovic, could not handle the Melbourne heat and had to retire when he was trailing by two sets to one. The Serbian star retired from the match while trailing 6-7, 6-4, 6-2, 2-1 giving Andy Roddick a place in the semi-final.

Among his other defeats at the Australian Open, Novak Djokovic was shocked by wildcard Denis Istomin in the second round in 2017. The inspired world number 117 knocked the defending champion out in a thrilling five setter. Djokovic lost two tie-breaks on his way to a shocking 7-6 (10-8) 5-7 2-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 defeat at the Rod Laver Arena. Later in 2018, Novak Djokovic was stunned in straight sets by Hyeon Chung. The Serbian lost the match 7-6 (4), 7-5, 7-6 to be knocked out in the round of 16.

Novak Djokovic remains the king of Melbourne

Novak Djokovic suffered a first defeat in 33 matches at the Rod Laver Arena against Jannik Sinner. The Serbian superstar has won the tournament a record ten times and is the best player in the tournament’s history. However, the 36-year-old has suffered some break breaking losses along the way.

In the Australian Open 2014 quarterfinals, Novak Djokovic faced an inspired Stan Wawrinka. The Swiss star looked in terrific form and played out a five set thriller against the three-time defending champion. The match went into a deciding fifth set after both the players were tied at two sets each. Wawrinka prevailed in a thrilling final set to win the match 2-6, 6-4, 6-2, 3-6, 9-7. The Swiss star then went on to beat Rafael Nadal in the final to lift the trophy.

Despite his lose, Djokovic will be confident of success in the coming tournaments. The Serbian will start the next Grand Slam as the defending champion again. The 36-year-old will target to win the rest of the Grand Slams and an Olympic gold medal in 2024.

Post Edited By: Samir Satam

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Atharva Upasani

Possessing a Masters degree in Sports Journalism, Atharva is a Tennis Journalist at The SportsRush. Atharva has come a long way from just being a tennis enthusiast to writing more than 300 articles on the sport. He has the 2012 Australian Open final to thank for cultivating within him a strong interest in tennis in which Novak Djokovic beat his favorite player, Rafael Nadal. Besides Nadal, his favorite athletes are cricketer Virat Kohli and Manchester United star Bruno Fernandes.