New Delhi, Jan 31 : World No. 2 Jannik Sinner thanked his supporters and reflected on his Australian Open journey while congratulating Novak Djokovic on reaching the final. The Italian faced a very tough loss on Friday at the tournament, where he was defeated by Djokovic in an exciting five-set semi-final.

After leading two sets to one, Sinner couldn't finish the match, and his disappointment was clear in his post-match comments, where he said that the defeat hurt him â??a lot.â??

Sinner came into the match aiming for a third consecutive Australian Open title and had defeated Djokovic in their last five encounters. However, on Friday at Rod Laver Arena, the second seed failed to take advantage of crucial opportunities, converting only two of 18 break points against the 38-year-old.

â??Not my day, but I gave everything. Congrats to @DjokerNole, itâ??s always an honour to share the court with you. Thanks to everyone for all the support over the last two weeks. The work continues. See you soon again,â?? Sinner wrote on X.

Sunday will mark the first time that Sinner will not compete in a major final since 2024 Wimbledon, where Alcaraz defeated Djokovic. Despite this setback, the 24-year-old Sinner expressed high praise for Djokovic and mentioned that the Serbianâ??s level of play was not unexpected.

â??He's won 24 Grand Slams. We know each other very well, how we play. I always said, 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,â?? Sinner said in his on-court interview on Friday.

/IANS