"I was worried about Novak Djokovic, first bad match we have seen in a long time" - Andrea Petkovic on Serb's Australian Open loss to Jannik Sinner
Novak Djokovic wasn't able to defend his Australian Open title in January. Former World No. 9 Andrea Petkovic recently took fans down memory lane to when Djokovic lost to Jannik Sinner in the semifinal at Melbourne.
Djokovic has competed in the Melbourne Major 19 times and has won the title a record 10 times. At the 2024 edition, the 36-year-old aimed to secure his 11th title but was knocked out in the semifinals 6-1, 6-2, 6-7(6), 6-3 by eventual winner Jannik Sinner.
In a recent Tennis Channel Inside-In podcast, Andrea Petkovic reminisced about the 2024 Australian Open. Among other things, she spoke about how she was worried about the Serb's semifinal match against Sinner and stated that it was his first bad match at a Grand Slam in a while.
“The one thing that I was worried about was seeing Novak Djokovic, that was a first bad match at a Major tournament we have seen from him in a long long time,“ Andrea Petkovic said (11:50)
Sinner's victory over the Serb saw him compete in his first Grand Slam final where he defeated Russia's Daniil Medvedev in a thrilling 5-set match.
Sinner became the first Italian to lift the Australian Open trophy and the third Italian man to win a Grand Slam singles title.
Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic's rivalry
Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic have faced off 7 times on the ATP tour, with the 24-time Grand Slam winner winning four of those meetings.
Their first match was when the Serb defeated Sinner in the second round of the 2021 Monte Carlo Masters. Up next was the 2022 Wimbledon Championships quarterfinal, which saw Djokovic come back from two sets down to defeat Sinner. Djokovic eventually went on to win the title.
At the 2023 Wimbledon Championships, they met for the third time, with Djokovic easing past the Italian to enter his 35th Grand Slam final. However, he lost to 20-year-old Carlos Alcaraz in the final.
After three attempts, Sinner's first win over Djokovic came when he ended his 19-match winning streak by defeating him in the round-robin tie of the 2023 Nitto ATP Finals. A few days later, they met again in the final of the tournament, but this time the 36-year-old got the better of Sinner as he clinched his seventh ATP Finals title.
Sinner went on to win their next two matches. He defeated Djokovic in the semifinal of the 2023 Davis Cup and also in the semifinal of the 2024 Australian Open.