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novak djokovic accepted Janic Sinner “Kicked my ass” after a heavy defeat to the world No. 2 in the semi-finals of the Six Kings Slam exhibition in Saudi Arabia.
Sinner had won her previous six competitive matches against the 24-time Grand Slam champion, including straight-set victories in the semi-finals of Roland Garros and Wimbledon this season.
38 year old Djokovic said he is a sinner and world number 1 carlos alcaraz were “pretty good” compared to the best five sets His semi-final loss to Alcaraz At last month’s US Open.
But Djokovic fared no better in the shorter format in Riyadh, as Sinner produced a masterclass of service to beat the Serbian 6-4 6-2 and set up another final against Alcaraz on Saturday.
Djokovic acknowledged that Alcaraz and Sinner, who have won the last eight Grand Slam titles between them, are a level above what he can produce at the age of 38, but said he would keep trying to find a way to beat them.
“Excuse my language, but it never feels good when someone kicks your ass like that on the court,” Djokovic laughingly told the crowd during a rare on-court interview involving a losing player.
“But it’s definitely amazing that I’m still able to play at a high level, be in the top-10, top-5. It’s a good feeling. I’m trying my best. I’m grateful for the body I have, whatever God has given me in my life.
“It’s been an incredible journey, an amazing career, a lot to celebrate, but I would love if someone could trade young bodies with me. That would be nice, just for a year so I can try to keep winning against these guys.
“All kidding aside, I still have the drive. Obviously I know it’s going to be more and more difficult for me to win especially against Jannik and Carlos. I’m still going to keep challenging them and until that happens, let’s see.”
Djokovic will return for the third-place match against Taylor Fritz on Saturday and said the defeat was still “deserved, because of the love for the game and the passion for tennis”.
He told the crowd: “I’m sorry you couldn’t see the long match today, it’s his fault, not my fault! I tried to scare him a bit with the 0-15 points in that last game, but it didn’t work.
“Look, it felt like a runaway train. He was hitting the ball from all corners. I was just trying to hang in there, but he was great, well done to him and good luck in the final.”
It was then Sinner’s turn to address the crowd, with the 24-year-old beginning by saying: “You know, I think he said everything, no?
“He’s a great role model especially for us, for the younger generation. Watching him compete, watching him practice and train for these moments.
“It’s amazing. What he’s achieved in his career is incredible and you know I look up to him as a real role model. It’s a huge honor and privilege to play against him. Obviously I’m happy with the day, but I’m also happy to have him around.”
Sinner played a near-perfect performance, firing 27 winners to only five unforced errors, and losing only eight points on serve in the entire match. The Italian was particularly pleased with the improvement in his serve since the US Open.
When Sinner was asked if it was one of the best service performances, he said, “Yeah, I think so.”
Sinner continued, “I wish it happened every time, but no, we try to work on things, we try to get better as a player.” “You have days when certain or particular things work very well, so obviously today the service works really very well. We all try to improve, so let’s see.
“We worked a lot in the last month, we have been serving for hours and hours. But if this is the result, I am very happy.”
After competing against each other in the finals of Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open this season, Saturday will mark a Six Kings Slam exhibition Latest meeting between Sinner and Alcaraz,
Sinner had a victory over Alcaraz at the Six Kings Finals last year, and will be out to defend the overall $6 million prize, but Alcaraz has had the upper hand in their most recent head-to-head.
The world number one avenged his defeat in the Wimbledon final by defeating Sinner in last month’s US Open final and has won seven of his last eight official matches on the tour.