AUSTRALIAN OPEN

February 1, 2026

Novak Djokovic

Press Conference

C. ALCARAZ/N. Djokovic

2-6, 6-2, 6-3, 7-5

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Incredible tournament. You know, there will be a future generation of tennis fans who are not lucky enough to see you and Carlos play live, and so I'm wondering, for those people, what do you think the story of this rivalry is?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I don't know. I don't know what I can say to them, but I can say that for me it's always a pleasure to face him, because he definitely is one of the best players I've ever faced in my career.

So, you know, he makes you play your best tennis in order to beat him, so you know, it's what I've done for, like, set and a half, but then, yeah, things changed and he deserved to win.

Q. How much does this tournament fuel your belief that you can and there's no reason you can't compete?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I always believe I can. Otherwise, I wouldn't be competing, and I said this numerous times. It's great that I was able to beat Jannik in five and really battle Carlos in four close sets.

Yeah, I remain disappointed with the way I felt in second and third after an incredible start, and I felt great about myself and then, yeah, things changed.

It is what it is. That's sport, but of course, when you draw a line and you make, you know, assessment of what happened last couple of weeks, it's incredible achievement for me to be able to play finals, be couple of sets away maybe to win a championship.

Of course, after a loss, it's a bitter feeling, but nevertheless, I have to be, yeah, content with this result.

Q. Well done. What changed, do you think?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I mean, look, I never like to talk about things that, you know, I go through physically or health-wise, because it's going to come across as I'm looking for excuses and taking away the credit of the winner, so it's not going to change this time.

I'm just going to congratulate Carlos. He was the deserved winner on the court today.

Q. Were there certain...

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: No, I'm not going to share.

Q. No, not about physical stuff, but in terms of...

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Game-wise, you saw it. I mean, for the first set was one of the best sets I've played the last couple years. Then, you know, I kind of regained my energy back and momentum in mid-fourth. Asked the crowd to get involved. They did.

Yeah, just a bad miss at 4-All and break point, and that forehand, I had a good look at that forehand. Yeah, my forehand broke down in important moments. Yeah, that's what happens.

I mean, one or two shots can change the momentum of the match and switch things around, which happened. Yeah, I'm just very disappointed I wasn't able to maintain that kind of feeling that I had in the first set.

You know, a lot of what-if scenarios in my head, and yeah, I guess it is what it is. You have to just accept it as it is.

Q. It seemed as though you picked up in the first set where you left off against Jannik in terms of your level. When you sat down having won that first set 6-2, did you think I might be able to win this, I've got this?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Yeah, yeah, absolutely. I knew he's a very smart, all-around player that obviously changes tactics and adjusts his game depending on how he feels the opponent is playing, so I knew that he's going to switch things around and he's going to raise his level, so I didn't -- you know, I knew what I needed to do, but just some things happened, and my energy, my level went completely down from north to south in two games.

Yeah, that's when I managed to recuperate and kind of feel re-energized, as I said, mid-fourth. I was close. I was close, but wasn't meant to be.

Q. Just curious how, as this week unfolded, you know, what happened in the fourth round, getting a walkover, getting a very short quarterfinal with what happened with Musetti, how much do you think the middle of the tournament helped you to be competitive and to beat Sinner and to get as close as you did in the final? And did that make it all feel like this is destiny, that things were sort of falling your way sometimes?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Yeah, yeah, I mean, for sure I had luck to not play fourth round and play a couple of sets in the quarters. We spoke about this.

I'm grateful, again. It's hard just right after the match to, you know, to be all positive and smiling, you know, because you are a competitor and you don't want to lose, and you don't like to lose. That's the kind of feeling.

But overall, for sure it's been a fantastic tournament. Yeah, I knew that I'd probably have to beat two of them on the way to the title. I beat one, which is great, so it's a step more further than I have gone in Grand Slams than last year. Very nice, encouraging.

But, you know, not enough for me. Yeah, let's see. I'm going to keep pushing and see if I get another chance.

Q. Novak, congratulations. I know not the result you wanted, but great tournament. You mentioned earlier that you do have the belief and you still believed you can beat these guys, but you also said on court, I didn't expect to be in a Grand Slam final ceremony again.

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Yeah.

Q. Can you talk about those two things and how satisfying it is to be back in this spot?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I have belief, and I have always, you know, confidence and vision to win a slam, another slam anywhere, to win anywhere where I play, but I did not expect it. That's different.

Expectations, I lowered my expectations last couple of years, which also, I think, allows me to be able to, you know, let go of some of that unnecessary additional stress. You know, it's always tension and stress and pressure, and I just don't want to be overwhelmed by it.

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.

Yeah, I mean, look, I managed to beat Jannik, who is double defending champion here and won the last whatever, four, five matches against me, in five sets, very proud of that. Incredible match, incredible achievement.

But, you know, you're speaking to me ten minutes after I lost the final, so of course I'm going to be a little bit bitter about losing. But, again, I lost to a No. 1 in the world and already a legendary player.

Q. I'm wondering what you do with a setback like this mentally and how you use it to fuel you forward, or if there are leadership lessons in that for you?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Yeah. I mean -- well, I expect this feeling obviously to settle or to not be present with me in that intensity for too long. You know, I've had many matches in my career, big matches, that I lost as well and many that I won. More that I won, thankfully. So I know how to deal with this from the mental or emotional standpoint.

For me, the best way to deal with anything after finish competition is to be with my family, so that's something I'm looking forward to, and that's only thing I'm thinking about right now is just go back to hug my close ones.

Q. Great tournament. It's quite crazy that you and Carlos have had such a storied rivalry despite being 16 years apart in age. I'm curious, what has changed in his game since you first played him to now? He's the youngest person to ever achieve what he achieved today. Do you consider him the best young player to have...

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I mean, the results are a testament to his already stellar career. I can't think of any other superlatives about him. I think everything he said, and he deserves every bit of the praise that he gets from his peers, but also the whole tennis community.

I mean, he's very nice, young man. Good values, nice family. Of course, already a legendary tennis player that made already a huge mark in the history books of tennis, I mean, with only 22 years of age.

It's super impressive, no doubt about it. Well, first time I played him, he was, what, 11 or 12 years old (smiling). No, he was, I think, 18 or 19. You could already see that he's destined for great things.

But, of course, a lot has changed since then. You know, he has improved physically, mentally, game-wise. I mean, he's constantly looking to innovate himself and his game, which is exactly the kind of mentality that needs to be nurtured for a champion.

You know, it's never enough in terms of settling with your game. You have to progress. Otherwise, you regress because everyone else progresses.

I mean, he has everything, whole package. Really, as I said, a nice guy and very respected. So congrats to him, to his team, to his family. I mean, he's only 22. I mean, it's unbelievable.

Everything is possible in his case, no question about it. 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.

Well, I mean, of course, there's Sinner. The two of them, I guess, are going to be fighting for biggest titles, and then the youngsters like myself are going to try to catch up (smiling).