Lleyton Hewitt detail comes to light amid staggering 19-year first for Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic's exit at the Australian Open has left the tennis world in shock after Jannik Sinner broke endless streaks for the World No.1 and an interesting detail involving Australia's Lleyton Hewitt has come to light. Djokovic admitted 22-year-old Italian sensation Sinner outplayed him in all areas on Friday after the World No.1 was stunned in four sets on Rod Laver Arena.

Djokovic hadn't looked himself in the Melbourne sun during the day sessions at this year's Australian Open and admitted as much in his post-match press conference. "He's deservedly in the final; he outplayed me completely today," Djokovic said in his post-match press conference.

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"I was shocked with my level, 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."

Djokovic has dominated at Melbourne Park for more than a decade. The 10-time Australian Open champion had never lost at the grand slam once he reached the semi-final stage. Sinner became the first man to break this streak.

Incredibly, Sinner also broke another streak in the biggest win of his career. The 2024 Australian Open is now the first Australian Open in 19 years that won't feature one of involving Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal and Djokovic.

The last time a final didn't feature one of the three was when Australian tennis icon Hewitt lost to Marat Safin in 2005. Sinner was so dominant in the breathtaking performance on Rod Laver Arena that it was also the first time since 2005 that Djokovic did not earn a break point on his opponent's service game. Incredibly, this is the first time Djokovic has never not created a break point opportunity in his 415 matches at grand slam level.

Novak Djokovic perplexed after Australian Open loss

Djokovic's loss at his most lucrative grand slam will mean he will have to wait for another chance at moving clear of Margaret Court in the all-time grand slam record. The World No.1 admitted he wasn't feeling good after his loss having been outplayed on his favourite court.

"It's not a very pleasant feeling playing this way," he said. "But at the same time, credit to him for doing everything better than me, you know, in every aspect of the game.

"I tried, I fought. I managed to raise the level a little bit in the third, saved match point, played a good tiebreak. But again, in the fourth set, it was a very bad game to lose, 40-0 up on 1-2, and against the wind a little bit. Just overall the ... level of my tennis was really not great."

'Sinner will face Daniil Medvedev in the Australian Open final with a new winner now confirmed at Melbourne Park. Medvedev came from two sets down to defeat Alexander Zverev and will now play in his third Australian Open final.

Djokovic will now turn his attention to Roland Garros, which could see the return of Nadal on his favourite surface.

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