While fans were hoping to see Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner face off for the first time at the Australian Open, Novak Djokovic had other ideas. Just four months shy of his 39th birthday, the 38-year-old delivered a vintage performance, knocking out the two-time defending champion 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 in four hours and nine minutes to reach his 11th Australian Open men’s singles final. Naturally, the loss hit Jannik Sinner hard.

Asked in his post-match press conference, “How much does this one hurt?” the Italian didn’t sugarcoat it. “Yeah, a lot,” he admitted. “It was a very important Slam for me. Knowing the background, these things can happen. It was a good match from both of us, and I had my chances, but I couldn’t use them, and that’s the outcome. So it hurts for sure.”

Jannik Sinner had come in riding a five-match winning streak against Djokovic and put together some big numbers over four hours on court.

Djokovic had to weather 72 winners, while Sinner finished with 42 unforced errors and fired 26 aces, the most of his career. Still, it wasn’t enough, and the frustration was clear as Sinner saw his Australian Open run come to an end.

Later, when asked when it started to feel like the match was slipping away and Djokovic was taking control, Sinner didn’t point to a single moment. “There is not one moment, to be honest,” he said. “I had my chances. It was the fifth set, many break points, and I couldn’t use them. He came up with some great shots.”

For those who missed it, Novak Djokovic was under constant pressure. He faced 18 break points throughout the match and somehow saved 16 of them. In the final set alone, he survived two brutal service games early on, fending off all eight break points Sinner created with clutch serving and relentless attacking play.

Looking back, Sinner admitted some of his decisions just didn’t pay off. “I decided sometimes to try a couple of different things, but today they didn’t work,” he said. “That’s tennis. I felt the level was great from both of us. It was a bit of a rollercoaster, and it happened today.”

Clearly, Friday night’s loss stung on multiple levels for Sinner. Not only did it end his bid to become just the fourth man in Australian Open history to win three straight singles titles, and the first since the very opponent who stopped him, but it also snapped his impressive 19-match winning streak in Melbourne. Missing out on a place in that exclusive club made the defeat even tougher to take.

Jannik Sinner reveals what surprised him most after the loss

When an interviewer asked, “Were you surprised at all by Novak’s level today, just how well he was able to play?” Jannik Sinner was quick and honest with his response. “You know he has 24 Grand Slams, and we know each other very well, how we play. I am not surprised,” he said plainly.

Sunday will mark the first time since Wimbledon 2024 that Jannik Sinner won’t be playing in a Grand Slam final, after that run ended with his loss to Novak Djokovic. Even so, the 24-year-old took the defeat in stride, praising Djokovic afterward and admitting that the level the Serbian produced didn’t come as a surprise at all.

Sinner went on to explain why Djokovic’s performance didn’t catch him off guard. He called Novak the greatest player over many years and pointed out that, even though Djokovic plays fewer tournaments now because of his age, Grand Slams still bring out something extra.

“We all know how important Grand Slams are for me, for him, for Carlos, for everyone,” Sinner said. “That extra motivation is there. He played great tennis, and hopefully I can take some lessons from this and see what I can improve.”

When the interviewer followed up by asking what felt different about Djokovic compared to their recent matches, Sinner shrugged off the comparison. “Every match is different,” he said. “You can’t really compare them. Roland Garros was different, Wimbledon was different, and here it was different again. You just can’t compare.”

Even with the semifinal loss at the Australian Open, Jannik Sinner will head out of Melbourne exactly where he arrived – No. 2 in the PIF ATP Rankings. So, taking everything into account, what did you make of Sinner’s performance today?