Page 6 - Novak Djokovic

Don't write off Novak Djokovic after his Australian Open loss to Sinner

It might be tempting to see some tidy symbolism and greater significance in Novak Djokovic's loss to Jannik Sinner in the Australian Open semifinals. The end of the thirtysomething Djokovic's 33-match winning streak at Melbourne Park. The end of his bid for an 11th championship there and 25th Grand Slam trophy overall. The breakthrough for the twentysomething Sinner, an up-and-coming talent who will now get to play in his first major final, against Daniil Medvedev on Sunday. Then again, that was the sort of passing-of-the-torch oversimplification some folks found in Djokovic's loss to another kid, Carlos Alcaraz, in last year's Wimbledon final. And what happened a couple of months later? Djokovic claimed the US Open title as part of a 19-match unbeaten run. So don't be too quick to write off the 36-year-old from Serbia this time, either, as he essentially told the world himself after bowing out 6-1 6-2 6-7(6) 6-3 against Sinner on Friday. "Doesn't necessarily mean that it's beginni

Australian Open 2024: Medvedev wins five-setter to meet Sinner in final

Jannik Sinner ended one of Novak Djokovic's perfect streaks in an Australian Open upset and then got to relax while Daniil Medvedev rallied from two sets down to beat Alexander Zverev after midnight to secure the other place in the final. For a self-described tennis fan, just everything went Sinner's way in the semifinals Friday. The 22-year-old Italian broke Djokovic's serve twice in each of the first two sets in a surprisingly lopsided 6-1, 6-2, 6-7 (6), 6-3 victory that ended the 10-time champion's unbeaten streak in semifinals at Rod Laver Arena. Almost an hour after missing a match point in the tiebreaker, Sinner converted his second to complete his third win in four head-to-heads since losing to Djokovic in last year's Wimbledon semifinals. I learned a lot from that, he said of that Wimbledon loss and his subsequent wins. "It gives you a better feeling when you know that you can beat one player. "The confidence from the end of last year has for sure kept the belief. Third-s

Australian Open 2024: One semi-final loss not beginning of end for Djokovic

A solitary loss in 11 semi-finals at the Australian Open was nowhere near enough for Novak Djokovic to contemplate a generational change in tennis. Djokovic didn't get a look at a breakpoint during a 6-1, 6-2, 6-7 (6), 6-3 loss to Jannik Sinner on Friday that ended the 10-time Australian Open champion's unbeaten streak after making the final four at Melbourne Park. He commended the 22-year-old Italian for playing flawless tennis it was Sinner's third win over Djokovic in their last four matches but rated his performance as the worst he could remember at a major. This tournament hasn't been up to my standard or criteria or the level that I would normally play or expect myself to play, Djokovic said, "but doesn't necessarily mean that it's beginning of the end, you know, as some people like to call it. Let's see what happens in the rest of the season. The 36-year-old Djokovic has been dealing with illness and a sore right wrist this month in Australia and wasn't at his peak, by hi

Jannik Sinner denies Novak Djokovic 25th Major at Australian Open 2024

Italy's Jannik Sinner won the first semifinal of the year's first Grand Slam 6- 1, 6- 2, 6-7, 6-4.

Australian Open 2024 semifinal live timing (IST), live streaming in India

Australian Open 2024 SF schedule: Men's singles - Djokovic vs Sinner & Medvedev vs Zverev. Women's singles - Sabalenka vs Gauff and DayanaYastremska vs Zheng; Bopana will be in action in men's doubles

Don't think anyone will ever come close to Djokovic: Former world no. 17

With the Australian Open currently on, defending champion Novak Djokovic has once again been dubbed as a favourite to retain the title, and former world No. 17 Bernard Tomic of Australia firmly believes there will be no one to challenge the great Serbian. Djokovic is the leading Grand Slam winner in the Open Era of tennis. He also has the chance of winning the most Grand Slam titles across eras, as another win would allow him to surpass the all-time record of Margaret Court. Djokovic is eying his 25th Grand Slam title at the Australian Open. Tomic, who has lost to Djokovic on all six instances in the ATP circuit, dubbed him a "freak" and also the "G.O.A.T", besides adding that to beat him, one has to play at the highest level at all times. "I was lucky enough to beat Djokovic at the Hopman Cup 11 years ago (chuckles). He is a freak. "You have no choice but to play at the highest level to beat him. And, if you lower your level even the slightest against him, you will lose," he told

Djokovic holds off Fritz to reach Australian Open semifinals for 11th time

Novak Djokovic held off Taylor Fritz 7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 in 3 3/4 hours to reach the Australian Open semi-finals for the 11th time on Tuesday. When he gets through the quarterfinals in Australia, Djokovic is unbeaten. The 24-time major champion has won all 10 semifinals he's contested at Melbourne Park and all 10 finals. In his record-extending 48th Grand Slam semi-final, he'll play No. 4-seeded Jannik Sinner or No. 5 Andrey Rublev. Fritz saved the first 15 break-points he faced, an unheard-of stat against one of the best returners ever. We all know Taylor has got one of the best serves in the world, Djokovic said. "I knew the kind of threat he poses when he serves on such a high quality. My conversion was really poor, but in the end of the day, I managed to break him when it mattered. I upped my game midway through the third set, all the way to the end." The first game set the tone for a long, tough match. It lasted 16 minutes and contained 24 points, going to deuce nine time

Australian Open 2024: Alcaraz sets up quarterfinal clash against Zverev

Carlos Alcaraz completed a Grand Slam set by reaching the Australian Open quarterfinals for the first time, setting up a showdown against Olympic champion Alexander Zverev. The 20-year-old Wimbledon champion missed the season-opening major in 2023 because of injury but is more than making up for lost time. The No. 2-seeded Alcaraz beat Miomir Kecmanovic 6-4, 6-4, 6-0 in less than two hours Monday to open the night session on Rod Laver Arena. He has dropped just one set en route to the last eight. Zverev is there for the third time but is coming off some long five-set wins, including a four-hour, 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (3) fourth-round victory over No. 19 Cameron Norrie. It was the 32nd five-set match so far at Melbourne Park, a tournament record in the Open era. Their match on Margaret Court Arena was prolonged after being delayed briefly when a protester threw anti-war pamphlets onto the back of the court in the third set. The protester was escorted out by security. No. 3 Danii

Djokovic named Balkan athlete of the year record 8th time ahead of Jokic

Novak Djokovic was named the Best Balkan Athlete of the year on Monday for a record eighth time, ahead of NBA star Nikola Jokic. The 36-year-old Djokovic won three Grand Slam titles in 2023 to take his record tally to 24, while Jokic was named the NBA Finals MVP after leading the Denver Nuggets to the title. Both are from Serbia. The results of the annual poll were published by the Bulgarian News Agency. A total of 58 athletes received votes in the poll this year, with Bulgarian basketball player Alexandar Vezenkov coming third. Long jumpers Miltiadis Tentoglou of Greece and Ivana Spanovic of Serbia, who won the men's and women's world championship titles last year, were fourth and fifth, respectively. This was the 50th anniversary edition of the Balkan poll, which is traditionally conducted by the national news agencies of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia and Turkey. This year, organizers also expanded the vote to .

Australian Open 2024: Defending champ Djokovic fends off Prizmic in 4 hrs

Until he took on defending champion Novak Djokovic at Rod Laver Arena on opening Sunday in Australia, Dino Prizmic had never played a Grand Slam match. The 18-year-old Croatian qualifier, who was born seven months after Djokovic made his Grand Slam debut in 2005, made it last as long as he could, unsettling the 24-time major winner at times before Djokovic finished off the match 6-2, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-4. Djokovic made his Grand Slam debut at Melbourne Park in 2005 and has developed a record at the Australian Open that no man can match, with 10 titles here among his unprecedented career haul. The first set played out just about as expected. From there, it became quite a ride. Prizmic took the second set off Djokovic and went up a break in the third, stunning a capacity crowd before the world's No. 1-ranked player broke back and took the set. Prizmic didn't give up when he trailed 4-0 in the fourth, either, saving a breakpoint before getting a service break back. He saved three match

Australian Open 2024: Rublev survives a tough 5-setter, Sinner wins opener

Andrey Rublev felt like his Australian Open first-round match against Thiago Seyboth Wild was going to end just like his friend Daniil Medvedev's did at the French Open last year against the clean-hitting Brazilian. After wasting four match points in the 12th game of the fifth set, Rublev fell behind 5-2 in the match tiebreaker before regaining his composure, winning eight of the next nine points and clinching a 7-5, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 7-6 (6) victory. He slumped to the ground, then got up quickly, embraced Seyboth Wild, who was making his debut in the Australian Open main draw and roared triumphantly. Seyboth Wild upset major winner Medvedev in the first round at Roland Garros last year and Rublev admitted he felt the momentum going the same way before he decided to relax and go for broke. For sure, I will not forget this one, the fifth-seeded Rublev said. Thiago is a super dangerous player. Super talented. He's hitting so hard, so clean. Fifth set, I had so many opportunities. I tho

Kohli and Djokovic: How Instagram turned mutual admirers into text buddies

Virat Kohli and Novak Djokovic have been texting each other on Instagram for quite some time now. But how did the saga start? Kohli revealed it in a video. Watch it here

Australian Open 2024 dates, prize money, top seed players, live streaming

Australian Open 2024 has a total prize money of Rs 481.2 crore approx (86.5 mn Australian dollars). The women's and men's singles champions will each receive 3.15 mn Australian dollars (Rs 17.5 crore)

Australian Open 2024: When Steve Smith played tennis with Novak Djokovic

Djokovic also played cricket, but in his style, with a tennis racquet

Australian Open 2024: Djokovic and Swiatek get No. 1 seedings as expected

Playing true to their rankings, Novak Djokovic and Iga Swiatek have been given the respective No. 1 seedings at the Australian Open in the first Grand Slam tournament of the year which begins Sunday at Melbourne Park. Here is a list of the seedings: Men 1. Novak Djokovic 2. Carlos Alcaraz 3. Daniil Medvedev 4. Jannik Sinner 5. Andrey Rublev 6. Alexander Zverev 7. Stefanos Tsitsipas 8. Holger Rune 9. Hubert Hurkacz 10. Alex de Minaur 11. Casper Ruud 12. Taylor Fritz 13. Grigor Dimitrov 14. Tommy Paul 15. Karen Khachanov 16. Ben Shelton 17. Frances Tiafoe 18. Nicholas Jarry 19. Cameron Norrie 20. Adrian Mannarino 21. Ugo Humbert 22. Francisco Cerundolo 23. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 24. Jan-Lennard Struff 25. Lorenzo Musetti 26. Sebastian Baez 27. Felix Auger-Aliassime 28. Tallon Griekspoor 29. Sebastian Korda 30. Tomas Martin Etcheverry 31. Alexander Bublik 32. Jiri Lehecka Women 1. Iga Swiatek 2. Aryna Sabalenka 3. Elena Rybakina 4. Coco Gauff 5

Novak Djokovic hoping to play into his 40s like good friend Tom Brady

Novak Djokovic has already learned a lot from NFL great Tom Brady. And having seen Brady play well into his 40s, the 36-year-old Djokovic now hopes he can do the same. Djokovic holds the men's record of 24 Grand Slam titles but isn't showing any signs of slowing down, as he prepares to compete for a record 11th Australian Open title next month. And while Roger Federer has retired and Rafael Nadal missed nearly all of 2023 with injuries, Djokovic is hoping he has several more years left at the top. After all, Brady who was on hand in Djokovic's box to watch the Serbian star win this year's French Open final won his seventh Super Bowl ring at the age of 43. "Tom Brady is a great example of a champion in his sport and someone that has had such a great career and longevity, Djokovic said at an exhibition event in Saudi Arabia. He has put a lot of hours and a lot of time into self-care, into recovery, into making sure that in a way every aspect of his body and mind is covered so that h

Tennis Yearender 2023: Djokovic achieves legendary status, Alcaraz rises

Novak Djokovic won three grand slam titles and became the only player along with Margret Court to win 24 grand slams

Novak Djokovic and Aryna Sabalenka win ITF World Champion awards for 2023

Novak Djokovic and Aryna Sabalenka were honored as the International Tennis Federation's 2023 ITF World Champions after being the only singles players to reach at least the semifinals at all four Grand Slam tournaments this season. Djokovic, who finished at No. 1 in the ATP rankings for a record-extending eighth time, won the Australian Open, French Open and U.S. Open to raise his major trophy total to a men's-leading 24 and was the runner-up at Wimbledon. He went 56-7 and led the men's tour with seven titles. This is his eighth ITF World Champion award, also a record. Sabalenka received the honor for the first time after winning the Australian Open for her first Grand Slam title, finishing as the runner-up at the U.S. Open and making it to the semifinals at the French Open and Wimbledon. Sabalenka made her debut at No. 1 in the WTA rankings in September, before finishing the year at No. 2 behind Iga Swiatek, the WTA Player of the Year. Other ITF World Champions included Storm Hun

Many chances it will be my last year, says Rafael Nadal on retirement

In a recent video, the 22-time Grand Slam champion discussed the potential of retiring, adding that there is even a chance he will retire midway through the season if his body does not cooperate

TMS Ep519: IMEEC corridor, Djokovic, T+1 settlement cycle, Paytm Soundbox

How big a deal is the India-Middle East-Europe Corridor? Is Novak Djokovic indeed the GOAT? Is India ready for the T+1 hour settlement cycle? What is the Paytm Soundbox? All answers here