Novak Djokovic‘s semi-final defeat against Jannik Sinner left many stunned. More than hailing the young Italian for his victory, the focus has largely remained on the Serb’s defeat. While countless dissections have already been performed, a notable explanation comes from tennis veteran, Robbie Koenig.

Djokovic, whose backhand is known to be hard to beat, seemed dormant in the AO semi-finals. As Koenig explains his analysis of the Serb’s form, his revelation offers a different lens. Before talking about the technical issues, Koenig mentioned that the Serbian maestro wasn’t looking good in the entire tournament itself.

“I’m not sure he was playing that well the whole tournament, let alone just that match,” said Koenig. The tennis pro started with his analysis of Djokovic’s backhand against Prizmic by stating, “In particular, the backhand was like shocking.” The semi-final against Jannik Sinner further highlighted Djokovic’s struggles, as he was already reported to be sick.

Koenig added, “Against Sinner, he missed many routine backhands, and the serve wasn’t his usual self in terms of accuracy.” The former pro also pointed out issues with Djokovic’s serves, stating, “the serve wasn’t the usual self.” As Koenig highlighted all these issues with the Serb’s form at the AO, it paints another picture as to why the Serb has been out of form in Melbourne.

During the United Cup, which happened just before the Australian Open, Djokovic injured his wrist. Talking about this the Serb had said, I basically got constant treatment before the match, during the match, after the match, you know, trying to address the issue that I’m facing today in the best possible way.” He ended up winning the match, and about it he said, “even though I maybe wasn’t feeling 100%, but still, you know, it allowed me to finish the match.”

Nevertheless, much to the disappointment of the fan and Djokovic himself, the world number one could not finish his Australian Open run on a positive note. Although Sinner outperformed Djokovic, he did not shy away from praising his powerful serves.

Sinner’s admiration for the serves of Novak Djokovic

While Robbie Koenig pointed at Novak Djokovic’s weakened skills at the AO, Jannik Sinner gave out his admiration for the 36-year-old’s serves. Sinner mentioned, “He’s such an incredible server so I tried to guess sometimes a little bit also and just trying to push, trying move him around a little bit.”

Along with expressing his regards to Djokovic for the advice that he has always given, Sinner also mentioned a strategy in particular, saying, “he told me after the match try to move the ball a little bit more, not being a little bit predictable.” As the young Italian highlighted the learning he gained from Djokovic himself, he became a perfect example of learning from the best and applying it to be the best.