Djokovic falls short of a 25th major title as Alcaraz triumphs in Australia. It’s still his mission

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — As only true champions do, Novak Djokovic assessed a tournament where he got within two sets of achieving a record 25th Grand Slam title as something to work on.

In an Australian Open final where both men were chasing history, 22-year-old Carlos Alcaraz came back to beat Djokovic in four sets on Sunday night.

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“You’re speaking to me 10 minutes after I lost the final, so of course I’m going to be a little bit bitter about losing,” Djokovic said in his official post-final news conference. “But, again, I lost to a No. 1 in the world and already a legendary player.”

It was the first time Djokovic has ever lost a final at Melbourne Park, where he’s won 10 of his 24 Grand Slam singles titles. That’s already a record in men’s tennis and in the Open era. It’s something he’s still determined to improve on.

He ended a sequence of four semifinal losses at the Slams with a semifinal win over two-time defending Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner, one of the two men who’ve been blocking his path to that 25th championship for two years.

He took a set off the other one — Alcaraz — but couldn’t complete the job, not quite recovering from the epic semifinal that didn’t finish until after 1:30 a.m. on Saturday.

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1 out of 2

“I knew that I’d probably have to beat two of them on the way to the title,” Djokovic said. “I beat one, which is great, so it’s a step more further than I have gone in Grand Slams than last year. Very nice, encouraging.

“But, you know, not enough for me. I’m going to keep pushing and see if I get another chance.”

The 38-year-old Djokovic said he’d lowered his expectations when he openly conceded that Alcaraz and Sinner were playing on a higher level than anyone else in tennis, and it took some pressure off. But he hasn’t lost faith he can still beat anyone on his day.

A few breaks helped Djokovic on his way to a 38th Grand Slam final, including a walkover in the fourth round and a lucky reprieve when he was down two sets in the quarterfinals before Lorenzo Musetti retired in the third set because of injury.

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/djokovic-falls-short-25th-major-151958950.html

Author : JOHN PYE

Publish date : 2026-02-01 15:19:00

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