Novak Djokovic was aware of the target on his back as he was chasing a record-extending 24th major title going into the 2023 Wimbledon Open. Following his quarterfinal victory against Andrey Rublev on Tuesday, the Serbian delivered a witty remark, stating “It ain’t happening!” during his on-court interview when asked about his competitors’ aim to halt his run at the tournament.
In his post-match press conference, Djokovic mentioned his belief in his own capabilities, acknowledging his status as the favorite. Citing his past successes at Wimbledon, where he had won the title on four previous occasions, he expressed confidence in his ability to perform well.
“I don’t want to sound arrogant, but of course, I would consider myself the favorite. Judging with the results I had in my career here, previous four occasions of Wimbledon that I won, I do consider myself the favorite.”
-Novak Djokovic in the post match interview
Djokovic was set to compete at his 46th Grand Slam semi-final against Italian Jannik Sinner, who was making his maiden major semi-final appearance. Sinner, however, had reason to believe he could challenge the seven-time champion, having previously led the first two sets to Djokovic in 2022 Wimbledon before ultimately losing.
Djokovic, who potentially had chances to match Roger Federer’s eight Wimbledon Open titles lost to Carlos Alcaraz in the final in a five-set thriller.
Record viewership at the 2024 Australian Open as Novak Djokovic’s upset stuns fans
Novak Djokovic‘s loss to Jannik Sinner in the semifinal of the Australian Open on January 26 marked a significant moment in Melbourne, being Djokovic’s first-ever exit at the last-four stage of the tournament.
The match marked Djokovic’s first loss at the Australian Open since 2018 which came after 2195 days. However, the match also made history by attracting the highest viewership for a men’s semifinal since 2014. Djokovic, already a dominant figure with previous 10 titles in Melbourne, suffered an unexpected 1-6, 2-6, 7-6(6), 3-6 defeat to the fourth-seeded Italian. ESPN reported a substantial increase in viewership for the match compared to last year’s most-watched semi-final.
The semifinal match garnered 29% more viewership than the most-watched semifinal of the 2022 Australian Open. The women’s semifinal between Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka also saw a 15% increase in viewership compared to last year, in which Sabalenka secured a comfortable victory of 7-6(2), 6-2.
Breaking records!
— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) January 27, 2024
2024 #AusOpen Semis show historic viewership on ESPN pic.twitter.com/TYVEDW7KFn
