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Novak Djokovic kicked off his 2024 season at the United Cup, representing Serbia. On Wednesday (January 3), the 36-year-old experienced his first loss of the season as he was beaten by Australia's Alex de Minaur.
In the first singles match between Serbia and Australia, Alex de Minaur defeated the 24-time Grand Slam champion 6-4, 6-4, putting his country 1-0 ahead in the quarterfinal tie. This marked Djokovic's first defeat in Australia since the 2018 Australian Open quarterfinal, where he was beaten by Hyeon Chung.
The Serb's loss to Alex de Minaur has stirred tennis fans on the internet into a frenzy. One fan on X (formerly Twitter) commented that Rafael Nadal is in Australia to take over.
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“Nadal is here to take over 😁✌️” the fan wrote.
Another fan stated that the Serb should stop playing tennis in Australia until the Australian Open, which is set to begin on January 14.
“Novak should stop playing until AO!!!” - the fan wrote.
A third fan on X said that the 24-time Grand Slam champion is scared of Rafael Nadal's comeback. Nadal returned to the tennis court at the 2024 Brisbane International after missing a majority of the 2024 season due to a series of injuries that required surgery.
“Djokovic so scared of Nadal's comeback 😭😭” the fan wrote.
Another fan expressed disappointment with Serbia's captain, Viktor Troicki, for allowing the 36-year-old to play despite his recent wrist problem.
“Novak loses all sense of proportion when it comes to representing Serbia- he wants to win so badly for Serbia that he makes bad decisions -remember the Tokyo Olympics! Victor should not have allowed him to play with that wrist problem -The OZ Open is definitely in jeopardy😞” the fan wrote.
Here are some more reactions from tennis fans:
“Today was my day and I’m happy that I was able to get the win” - Alex de Minaur on beating Novak Djokovic
The win over Novak Djokovic was Alex de Minaur's first victory against a World No. 1.
The first time Djokovic and De Minaur competed against each other was in the round of 16 at the 2023 Australian Open, where the World No.1 defeated Alex de Minaur 6-2, 6-1, 6-2. Djokovic eventually went on to win the trophy.
The head-to-head between them now stands at 1-1.
In the post-match press conference, Alex de Minaur stated that when you face Djokovic, you have to fight till the end and that today was his day.
“When you go up against Novak you have to go out and enjoy it and back yourself and no matter what keep fighting until the end. Today was my day and I’m happy that I was able to get the win,” Alex de Minaur said.
The Australian added that he is playing at the United Cup to prove people wrong and showcase the variety in his game.
“I’m here to prove a lot of people wrong and to try and get better, ultimately I won’t be the biggest or the strongest. I will show I have variety in my game and I’m glad I could bring this level today,” Alex de Minaur said.
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