PERTH, Australia — Novak Djokovic crashed to his first defeat of the season and first in Australia for six years with a stunning 6-4 6-4 loss to Alex de Minaur, who put Australia on course for a 2-0 win over Serbia in their United Cup quarterfinal Wednesday.
Djokovic was hampered by a right wrist problem in Serbia’s victory over Czech Republic on Tuesday. The world No. 1 had the wrist worked on again by a trainer before De Minaur earned a late break and went on to clinch the opening set.
Australian Open champion Djokovic dropped serve yet again to hand De Minaur a 4-3 advantage in the second set and saved three match points later, but he was unable to prevent the loss ahead of the year’s first Grand Slam later this month.
Djokovic was on a 43-match winning streak in Australia and preparing for a tilt at an 11th Melbourne Park title, having last lost in the country to Chung Hyeon in the fourth round of the 2018 edition when he was plagued by an elbow issue.
“It’s extremely special,” said world No. 12 De Minaur, who won 33 out of 34 points behind his first serve to claim his first win over a world No. 1.
“Novak’s an unbelievable competitor, and what he’s done for the sport is pretty special. It feels surreal, it feels amazing and I’m happy to do it here in Perth and in Australia.
“Ultimately when you go against Novak, you’ve just got to go out there, try and enjoy, back yourself and no matter what, keep fighting till the end. Today was my day. I’m happy I was able to get the win. This one definitely means a lot.”
De Minaur also became the first Australian player to defeat a world number one since Nick Kyrgios downed Daniil Medvedev in the 2022 US Open and will carry his nation’s hopes during the Australian Open, which begins Jan. 14.