Djokovic refuses to blame Australian Open final loss on injury struggles
NewsSunday, 01 February 2026 at 21:35
Novak Djokovic lost the 2026 Australian Open final, but despite physically struggling, he has refused to find excuses.
Djokovic won the hearts of fans around the world once again by making this year's Australian Open final. He beat Jannik Sinner in an epic five-setter to reach his 11th final in Melbourne. However, to win a major title today, players most often need to beat both Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.
It was Alcaraz who stood on the other side of the net in the final against Djokovic, but the Serbian player started better. The 24-time major winner won the opening set of the final match 6-2, playing some sensational tennis.
But as the match progressed, he started to struggle. The 38-year-old player couldn't keep up with his rival, who is 16 years younger. Eventually, Alcaraz won the match 2-6, 6-2, 6-3, 7-5, becoming the youngest man to complete a career Grand Slam. He is now a seven-time major winner.
Djokovic, on the other hand, didn't win his 25th major title, but he once again proved his greatness. Although his body couldn't keep up in the final, just reaching the final was a huge result for him. Naturally, however, the 10-time champion was asked about his physical struggles after the match.
But Djokovic didn't want to make any excuses. He kept the details to himself and congratulated his opponent, not trying to take anything away from Alcaraz, who played a great tournament to win the trophy.
"I don’t like to talk about things that I go through physically or health-wise, because it’s going to come across that I’m looking for excuses and taking away credit from the winner. It’s not going to change this time, I congratulate Carlos and he deserves the win. I’m not going to share."
Djokovic was full of praise for Alcaraz, realizing that a fellow legend stood on the other side of the net in the final. After the match, he said that the Spaniard was one of the best players he had ever faced.
"He definitely is one of the best players I've ever faced in my career. He makes you play your best tennis in order to beat him; it's what I've done for, like, a set and a half, but then things changed, and he deserved to win."
"He's a very smart, all-around player that obviously changes tactics and adjusts his game depending on how he feels the opponent is playing, so I knew that he's going to switch things around and he's going to raise his leve."
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