"Are they still crying? Accept Jannik Sinner is just playing better" - Report saying Novak Djokovic was "sick" before Australian Open loss angers fans

Tennis fans have not taken kindly to a report emerging from Serbia saying Novak Djokovic was sick the night before his 2024 Australian Open semifinal against Jannik Sinner.

The Serb was outclassed by eventual champion Sinner 6-1, 6-2, 6-7 (6), 6-3 in the semifinal of the 2024 Australian Open. This was his third loss to the Italian within a span of 11 weeks. Jannik Sinner previously defeated Novak Djokovic at the 2023 ATP Finals and the Davis Cup semifinals.

This was, however, the 22-year-old’s first Grand Slam win over Djokovic. The Serb won their previous two Major encounters - at Wimbledon in the 2023 semifinal, and at the same venue in the 2022 quarterfinal, where he was famously pushed by the youngster to five sets.

Following his latest loss, Novak Djokovic praised Jannik Sinner for doing everything better than him. The World No. 1 added that he was “shocked” by his subpar level.

But now, a tennis journalist from Serbia, who often reports on Djokovic, has claimed that the 24-time Grand Slam champion was sick before his day-session semifinal.

"He got a fever the night before the semifinal," journalist Luka Nikolic reportedly said on a podcast, as per Italy 24 press news. "Something similar to what (Alexander) Zverev had."

Alexander Zverev complained of illness after his semifinal loss to Daniil Medvedev. The Serb, meanwhile, had dealt with a viral infection during his initial matches at the Australian Open. After his third-round win over Tomas Etcheverry though, he dismissed any concerns by confirming that his infection was in the final stages.

The journalist, however, claimed the contrary.

"He was sick for three weeks, and then he had a relapse. That’s why he played so badly in the first two sets, you could see he was so weak and couldn’t do it. He couldn’t play well in those conditions. He didn’t want to go to the doctor so the journalists wouldn’t bother him and make a fuss," Nikolic claimed.

Tennis fans were less than impressed by the report and the Serb's alleged excuse for the loss to Jannik Sinner, who also defeated the likes of Karen Khachanov, Andrey Rublev and Daniil Medvedev en route to the title.

"Are they still crying? Accept that Sinner is just playing better at the moment," one fan said.

In 2021, Novak Djokovic won the Australian Open while dealing with an abdominal tear. In 2023, he lifted the title while reportedly competing with a three-centimeter hamstring tear.

"Isn't he supposed to have almost superhuman levels of resilience to these things?" one fan said about his reported illness in 2024.

Here are a few more reactions from tennis fans:

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"I tried, I fought" – What Novak Djokovic after his Australian Open 2024 loss to Jannik Sinner

Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner pictured at the 2024 Australian Open

While the latest report from Serbia suggested that Novak Djokovic was sick before his Australian Open match against Jannik Sinner, the Serb gave no such indication after his loss.

The 36-year-old congratulated the eventual champion for his “deserved” entry to the final after “completely outplaying” him.

"He's deservedly in the finals. He outplayed me completely today," he said in the press conference. "I was, in a way, shocked with my level, you know, 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. At least that I remember."

"Not a very pleasant feeling playing this way. But at the same time, you know, credit to him for doing everything better than me, you know, in every aspect of the game. I tried, I fought," he added.

Djokovic also noted that the crowd wasn’t a problem either, given that both players received equal support.

"The crowd was great. I think they were really fair towards both players," he said.