five-set semi-final win over Jannik Sinner<\/a>, but did say: “I remain disappointed with the way I felt in the second and third after an incredible start, and I felt great about myself and then things changed.”<\/p>\nDjokovic has been chasing a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam title since winning the 2023 US Open.<\/p>\n
He has now lost in two major finals since then, both to Alcaraz, and also fallen in five semi-finals.<\/p>\n
But he says he still believes he can lift another major, despite lowering his expectations.<\/p>\n
“I have belief, and I have always confidence and vision to win a slam, to win anywhere where I play, but I did not expect it. That’s different,” Djokovic said.<\/p>\n
![\"picture\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/image-87b86ab0-fb80-44d8-bc03-c53dc08ea1d6-85-2560-1440.jpeg\")
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‘Monumental’ hold sparks ‘almighty reaction’ from Djokovic<\/p>\n
Video credit: TNT Sports<\/p>\n
“I lowered my expectations the last couple of years, which I think allows me to be able to let go of some of that unnecessary additional stress. It’s always tension and stress and pressure, and I just don’t want to be overwhelmed by it.<\/p>\n
“It also feels good a little bit, not being always the main favorite to win slams. I think that kind of gives you a little bit of that extra motivation, I guess, when it comes down to the last rounds of the Slam.<\/p>\n
“I managed to beat Jannik, who is double defending champion here and won the last five matches against me. Very proud of that. Incredible match, incredible achievement.<\/p>\n
“But 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. But I lost to a No. 1 in the world and already a legendary player.”<\/p>\n
Djokovic had plenty of praise for Alcaraz, who has now won seven Grand Slam titles. That moves him level with Mats Wilander and John McEnroe, aged just 22.<\/p>\n
“The results are a testament to his already stellar career,” said Djokovic.<\/p>\n
“He’s a very nice, young man, good values, nice family. Of course, already a legendary tennis player that has already made a huge mark in the history books of tennis, at only 22 years of age.<\/p>\n
“It’s super impressive, no doubt about it. Everything is possible in his case, no question about it.<\/p>\n
“If he was able to achieve at already such a young age seven slams and all the other accolades, he’s going, steering forward big-time.<\/p>\n
“Well, I mean, of course, there’s Sinner. The two of them are going to be fighting for the biggest titles, and then the youngsters like myself are going to try to catch up (smiling).”<\/p>\n
– – –<\/p>\n
Watch and stream live tennis – including the 2026 French Open – on TNT Sports and discovery+<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Highlights: Alcaraz beats Djokovic to complete career Grand Slam Video credit: TNT Sports Novak Djokovic said it has…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":403349,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[148728,101,118,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-403348","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tennis","tag-australian-open-mens-singles-2026","tag-sports","tag-tennis","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/403348","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=403348"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/403348\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/403349"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=403348"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=403348"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=403348"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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