{"id":451701,"date":"2026-02-01T13:49:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-01T13:49:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/451701\/"},"modified":"2026-02-01T13:49:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-01T13:49:09","slug":"novak-djokovic-speech-after-losing-to-carlos-alcaraz-will-he-retire-thanks-rafael-nadal-for-attending-how-many-grand-slams-has-he-won-reactions-latest-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/451701\/","title":{"rendered":"Novak Djokovic speech after losing to Carlos Alcaraz, will he retire, thanks Rafael Nadal for attending, how many Grand Slams has he won, reactions, latest news"},"content":{"rendered":"

A gracious Novak Djokovic has hinted that his 2026 Australian Open Final may be his last ever, after Carlos Alcaraz defeated him 2-6, 6-2, 6-3, 7-5 in the Men\u2019s Singles final on Sunday night.<\/a><\/p>\n

The 38-year-old looked every chance of causing a second-straight upset in 48 hours at Melbourne Park after winning the opening set, but was in the end outplayed by the World No.1, who has become the youngest male player in tennis history to record a \u2018Career Slam\u2019 \u2014 a championship at each of the four Grand Slams.<\/p>\n

Watch the biggest Aussie sports & the best from overseas LIVE on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Speaking during the post-match presentation, the Serbian humbly admitted that he thought his days of appearing in a Grand Slam final were behind him heading into 2026<\/p>\n

\u201cThe last couple of matches gave me something that I have never experienced in Australia, that much love … I think (this is my) 21st, maybe 22nd year,\u201d Djokovic said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI must be very honest and say that I didn\u2019t think I would be standing in a closing ceremony of a Grand Slam once again. So, I think I owe you (the crowd) gratitude as well for pushing me forward throughout the last couple of weeks. <\/p>\n

\u201cGod knows what happens tomorrow, let alone six months or 12 months. It has been a great ride, I love you guys.\u201d<\/p>\n

Djokovic\u2019s road to an 11th Australian Open Final this summer was arguably his most unique yet, having not won a single set between his third-round win and the semi-final.<\/p>\n

\u2018THINGS CHANGED\u2019: Djokovic \u2018won\u2019t make excuses\u2019 but alludes to medical issue during AO final<\/a><\/p>\n

ANALYSIS: Alcaraz was welcomed into tennis immortality by the GOAT. It\u2019s proof he could end up catching Djoker<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2018WANNA PLAY, RAFA?\u2019 Tennis world melts over Djoker\u2019s cheeky mid-match offer to fellow legend<\/a><\/p>\n

A fourth-round walkover courtesy of an injured Jakub Men\u0161\u00edk saw him waltz into the final eight, before his opponent Lorenzo Musetti retired up two sets to none and advanced him through once again.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, an 11th Grand Slam at Melbourne Park wasn\u2019t to be on Sunday night for Djokovic, but the early consensus after his post-match speech is that it may well be his last dance in Australia.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt felt that way (being a farewell speech) … If that was goodbye, that was one great finish.\u201d Jim Courier said on Nine.<\/p>\n

The Australian Open Men\u2019s Final also had the pleasure of welcoming back two-time champion and 22-time Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal back to Rod Laver Arena, though this time in a viewing capacity.<\/p>\n

Djokovic hilariously gestures to Rafael Nadal in the stands during the 2026 Australian Open Men’s Singles Final.Source: Channel 9<\/p>\n

The retired Spanish great was seated front and centre on Sunday night, and was humorously pointed out by Djokovic in the crowd mid-match<\/a> to come and take his place.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to speak to the legendary Rafa, who is in the stands. Just a few words,\u201d Djokovic said in his speech post-match.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, it feels very weird to see you there (in the crowd) and not here (on-court), you know? But, I just want to say it\u2019s been an honour to share the court with you and here (seeing you in the crowd), it\u2019s the first time for me. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou know, obviously a strange feeling, but thank you. There\u2019s too many Spanish legends, it felt like I was two against one tonight, you know?\u201d<\/p>\n

A humble Djokovic began his speech by congratulating the 22-year-old Alcaraz, and couldn\u2019t help himself to a joke regarding the 16-year age difference between him and his opponent.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat you\u2019ve been doing, I think the best way to describe it is: \u2018Legendary, historic\u2019,\u201d Djokovic said of Alcaraz.<\/p>\n

\u201cCongratulations, and I wish you the best of luck for the rest of your career. I mean, you\u2019re so young. You have a lot of (years) like myself, so I\u2019m sure we\u2019ll be seeing each other many more times in the next 10 years.<\/p>\n

Djokovic has won 24 Grand Slams, the most by any male tennis player in history.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A gracious Novak Djokovic has hinted that his 2026 Australian Open Final may be his last ever, after…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":451702,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,689,232744,233321,962,233322,233317,20336,233318,46036,28258,233319,44,3592,677,964,41118,87670,233320],"class_list":["post-451701","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australia-and-new-zealand","tag-australian-open-final","tag-career-slam","tag-carlos-alcaraz","tag-classy-losing-speech","tag-cryptic-message","tag-elena-rybakina","tag-fourth-round-walkover-courtesy","tag-jim-courier","tag-lorenzo-musetti","tag-male-tennis-player","tag-news","tag-novak-djokovic","tag-oceania","tag-rafael-nadal","tag-tennis-history","tag-young-star","tag-youngest-male-player"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/451701","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=451701"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/451701\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/451702"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=451701"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=451701"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=451701"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}