Novak Djokovic and Boris Becker worked together between 2013 and 2016 (Image: Getty)
Boris Becker knows Novak Djokovic better than most, having coached the Serb between 2013 and 2016.
Novak Djokovic showed his true colours by behaving like a ‘champion’ after his Australian Open loss to Jannik Sinner, according to Boris Becker, who was surprised by the way the Serb handled his semi-final defeat. Djokovic was comfortably second-best as he came up short in the hunt for a 25th career Grand Slam title.
The 36-year-old endured unusually tough tests in the early stages of the tournament, dropping sets in the first and second round. His form picked up as the standard of his opponents increased, but Sinner proved to be a test too tough to overcome in Melbourne.
Novak Djokovic was outclassed by the fourth seed, who triumphed 6-1 6-2 6-7 6-3 to set up a mouth-watering final against Daniil Medvedev. It was the serial Grand Slam winner’s first Australian Open defeat since 2018 and he didn’t even get a glimpse of a break point against Sinner.
But he was hardly a ball of rage in the aftermath. And Becker, who coached Djokovic between 2013 and 2016, was surprised by how calm and collected he was after being dumped out of the tournament.
“In terms of form, it wasn’t his best Australian Open,” Becker told Eurosport. “He struggled with his form, his rhythm and his serve in almost all of his matches. And then he came up against a stronger opponent.
“These are surprising pictures [of Djokovic]. I don’t usually see him this relaxed after defeats. Perhaps he has realised that he doesn’t have the form at the moment and that he didn’t lose due to bad luck, but that the other player was simply better today. That’s what makes a champion, recognising that today just wasn’t his day.”
Djokovic’s assessment of the match proved Becker right, with the veteran tennis star admitting that he was outperformed in virtually every metric on Rod Laver Arena. “It is not a very pleasant feeling playing this way,” he said. “But at the same time, credit to [Sinner] for doing everything better than me in every aspect of the game.
“He’s deservedly in the final. He outplayed me completely. I was shocked with my level – in a bad way. There was not much I was doing right in the first two sets. I guess this is one of the worst Grand Slam matches I’ve ever played.”
Djokovic will get another shot at Grand Slam glory at the French Open later this year. Long-standing rival Rafael Nadal is expected to turn out at Roland Garros for what could be his farewell to the tournament after sitting out the Australian Open.
Despite his brutal injury woes, Djokovic believes the Spaniard will always be the favourite at the French as long as he’s fit and firing. “Regardless of the fact that he hasn’t played much, he is who he is in Roland Garros,” he said.
