Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
There were “many irrational thoughts” going through Novak Djokovic’s head following his Australian Open exit as he admitted his schedule for the remainder of the year remains up in the air.
Djokovic’s hopes of winning a record-extending 25th Grand Slam title with an 11th title at Melbourne Park were dealt a fatal blow in the semi-final on Friday as he slumped to defeat against Jannik Sinner.
The nature of the loss was surprising to many as the world No 1 didn’t have a single break point on the Sinner serve as he lost 1-6, 2-6, 7-6 (7-5), 3-6.
The loss and the tournament took a lot out of Djokovic naturally after the match he was questioned about his future with many believing he could be in the final stages of his glorious career.
Asked if his motivation remains intact, Djokovic told Serbian media as per Tennis Majors: “Let’s see how things will unfold in the future. When you leave the court after a loss, the head is still hot – you are fighting to be rational, but there are many irrational thoughts going through your head.
“I want my thoughts to settle – when I calm down, I will move on and see what tournaments I will play.”
READ MORE:Australian Open: Men’s singles draw as Novak Djokovic looks to win 11th title in Melbourne
As per tradition, the tennis legend will take a break after the season-opening Grand Slam and it was initially anticipated he would return at the Abu Dhabi Tennis Championships in late February.
But his name remains missing from the entry list and there have been suggestions he could extend his layoff and only return for the Sunshine Double – the Indian Wells Open and Miami Open in March.
One thing is clear, though, Djokovic main focus will be the biggest tournaments this year with the French Open, Wimbledon, Paris Olympics and US Open high on his agenda.
He added: “I made a commitment to myself that I will give it my all this year, with the priority being Slams and the Olympics.
“We’ll see whether something will change, in this stage of my life and my career some surprising decisions are maybe more expected compared to twenty years ago.”
Djokovic was never at the race during his match against Sinner, but he insists he was happy with his usual pre-match routine as things just didn’t click on the day.
“Yes, everything I usually do to be at my best on the court. Different factors contributed to the way I played,” he said. “I was far from my usual level throughout the tournament, Sinner played great and imposed himself, the conditions were a bit different since I normally play in the evening in the final stages of the tournament.
“It’s sports, it happens, I am sorry I played such a bad match. At the end of the day, I got outplayed, no excuses – I shake Jannik’s hand, say well done to him.”
