Djokovic revealed the reason for his loss at the Australian Open, expressing deep disappointment in himself, as an unexpected new record was set.

This year's Australian Open men's singles final delivered a night of anguish and restless sorrow for Djokovic's fans!

In the opening set, Djokovic quickly defeated Alcaraz 6-2 in only 33 minutes, and at that time, nobody anticipated the match would derail so dramatically for Djokovic, straying far from expectations and transforming the supporters' joy into overwhelming disappointment.

After the match, Djokovic openly stated in an interview that he believed he had a strong chance of winning against Alcaraz based on his performance in the first set.

When asked about the reason for his eventual loss, the Serbian star refused to blame his physical condition or health, considering that would be making excuses and disrespecting Alcaraz.

In fact, during the set break, everyone noticed Djokovic requested a medical timeout, indicating some unexpected physical issue; otherwise, the medical staff would not have given him medication. When the camera showed Djokovic’s injured foot, it was clear the blister had worsened, and anyone would find it hard to believe this did not affect his subsequent performance.

However, Djokovic eventually gave the answer everyone was eager to hear: why, after such a stunning first set, he ended up losing so decisively.

“The first set was one of the best I've played in recent years. Later, in the middle of the fourth set, I regained some energy and rhythm and even engaged the crowd, who responded positively,” Djokovic explained from a technical standpoint, revealing that the drastic change in his performance was due to a sudden loss of energy and rhythm, which also explains why his serving declined sharply from the second set onward.

By the time Djokovic recovered these two vital elements, Alcaraz was already leading 2-1 and had an early match point, pushing Djokovic to the brink with no way back. Unfortunately, regaining these qualities in the fourth set rather than the third likely sealed the final outcome.

Djokovic failed to reverse the downturn in the fourth set and pointed out another reason: “I made an unforced error at a crucial break point.”

This incident likely occurred in the ninth game of the fourth set, where Djokovic earned a break point on Alcaraz’s serve but failed to capitalize due to a forehand mistake, allowing the Spaniard to escape and later push Djokovic to two championship points in his own serve game, converting the first to break Djokovic’s undefeated streak in Australian Open finals.

While revealing these two reasons for his defeat, Djokovic did not hide his frustration: “Honestly, I’m very disappointed because I couldn’t maintain the feeling I had in the first set. My mind is full of 'what if' moments, but in the end, you have to accept reality.”

Losing his 25th Grand Slam title in his home turf of Melbourne, no one knows if Djokovic will have another chance to reach a Grand Slam final and hold that dream trophy again. Yet, the Serbian star set another new record in tennis: his racket was sold for a staggering $540,000.

This racket dates back to the 2012 Australian Open final, where Djokovic used it in a 5-hour and 53-minute battle against Nadal at Melbourne Park, setting the longest and most grueling men's Grand Slam final record and ultimately winning.

After that victory, Djokovic did not keep the racket but instead gave this historic and record-setting racket to a fan sitting courtside.

According to Canadian media CP24, just hours before Djokovic and Alcaraz's match started, this same racket from 14 years ago appeared at an auction house and sold for $540,000, setting the most expensive tennis racket record and surpassing the previous highest price set by Alcaraz a few months earlier. The Spanish player’s Wimbledon-winning racket had sold for $173,000, but that record was quickly eclipsed by Djokovic’s racket in just a few months.(Source: Tennis Home, Author: Moon River’s Starry Sky)