Novak Djokovic bows to Carlos Alcaraz: "Historic and legendary"
Novak Djokovic had no chance with Carlos Alcaraz in the Australian Open final. The Serb, who was chasing a 25th Grand Slam title, surrendered to the Murcian phenomenon who beat him in a comeback in four sets. “First of all congratulations to Carlos, you did an extraordinary tournament – said Nole during the award ceremony -What you are achieving is historic, legendary. I wish you the best for the future of your career. You are very young, like me. We will see each other again many times”.
“Thank you to my team because they support me: thank you for your successes” added the ten-time champion in Melbourne who then addressed a thought to Rafael Nadal, who was present in the stands to watch the final: “I want to speak to the legendary Rafa (Nadal, ed.), it is strange to see you in the stands and not on the court but I just want to tell you that it was an honor to share the court with you and to have you here to watch this final. Too many Spanish legends, I felt like I was playing two against one”.
“Thanks to the audience, you gave me a great love like I had never received. I tried to return it by playing good tennis. Honestly I always believed in myself, it is something necessary when you play at this level when you play against opponents like Carlos and Jannik. I honestly didn’t think I would be here today at this ceremony. Who knows what will happen tomorrow or in six or 12 months but it has been a great journey” Djokovic concluded.
Djokovic had reached the Australian Open last act after his success over Jannik Sinner in the semifinals. The 24-time Slam champion had honored the Blue after the challenge: “Jannik had won the last five matches, I had to change my phone number because he knew it by heart by then. When I greeted him I said thank you for allowing me to win at least once, I have enormous respect for him because he takes you to the limit. That is what he did with me today, he deserves an incredible applause”.
The South Tyrolean champion ended his long unbeaten streak at the Australian Open, which began in 2024 and continued the following year. This year, the trio failed: succeeding Jannik was young rival Carlos Alcaraz, who not only strengthened his leadership in the world rankings but also completed the Career Grand Slam, as the Australian Open is the only title he lacked in his trophy cabinet.
The Australian Open was the only title he had left in his trophy cabinet.
