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5 Quotes From Jannik Sinner After Australian Open Loss

Originally posted on Serve on SI | By Pat Benson | Last updated Jan 30, 2026 1:36 PM ET

It took until the early hours of Saturday morning in Melbourne, but Novak Djokovic was able to pull off a stunning five-set upset over Jannik Sinner in the 2026 Australian Open semifinal.

Naturally, most of the attention went to Djokovic, who is now one win away from a historic 25th Grand Slam title.

However, there is always more to be learned in defeat than after a victory, and Sinner gave an illuminating press conference after coming up short in his quest for a three-peat. Below are the five biggest quotes from Sinner after losing to Djokovic.

"It Hurts"

The first question posed to Sinner was how much the loss hurt, and the four-time Grand Slam champion did not mince words. "A lot," Sinner replied. "It was a very important Slam for me, of course, knowing also the background, it can happen. It was a good match from both of us. I had many chances. Couldn't use them, and that's the outcome. It hurts, for sure."

"He's the greatest player for many, many years"

A reporter asked Sinner if he was surprised by Djokovic's level of play, and Sinner dismissed the idea. "He's won 24 Grand Slams. We know each other very well, how we play. I always said, I never - how do you say - surprised, because I feel like he's the greatest player for many, many years."

"Of course, he's playing less tournaments because of his age and everything, but we also know how important Grand Slams are for me, for him, for Carlos, and everyone. There is this small extra motivation, and he played great tennis. Hopefully I can take it as kind of a lesson maybe to see what I can improve on."

"Every match is different"

When asked what was so different about the match, Sinner interrupted, "Every match is different. You cannot compare any match if you know Roland Garros and Wimby (Wimbledon) was different. You know, here was different again. So, yeah, you cannot compare."

"I feel good."

A reporter asked Sinner how he was feeling physically, and the 24-year-old made no excuses for his health. "No, I feel good. All okay."

"It's quite irrelevant if we see the score."

The last question gave a much-needed laugh in the media room when Sinner asked a reporter to repeat himself as he was speaking too quickly in English. The question was, "You won more points than Novak during the match. Did you feel that?"

Sinner answered, "I mean, especially in that end, I was holding a little bit easier, and he was struggling a bit to hold, you know, many break points, and so yeah I mean I kind of knew that I made more points than him, but in the same time, it's quite irrelevant if we see the score."

This article first appeared on Serve on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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