Novak Djokovic has admitted that the wind affected his game in the Australian Open final against Carlos Alcaraz. The Serbian suffered a four-set loss against the Spaniard in the summit clash of the Happy Slam at the Rod Laver Arena on Sunday.

While Djokovic was at his lethal best in the opening set, breaking Alcaraz’s serve twice, he could not carry the same form in the second set, losing 2-6.

The former World No.1 also admitted that missed first serves, pressure, and then forehand errors also led to his downfall.

Djokovic said in the post-match press conference: “It surely affected it [the wind]. I lost that last game playing against the wind; missed first serves, pressure, and then forehand errors. You feel it on the court, though people watching on TV might not see it.

“It’s not an excuse, it’s the same for him and me. But other health-related things happened that unfortunately caused a sharp turn in energy and the feeling on the court. That is what annoyed and disappointed me the most.

“Of course, the result matters—you can’t always win or lose against the world number one at this level—and I’m proud of my fight, but it irritates me that this has been happening often in the last two years: things change in a moment and I’m just not myself anymore.

“I was in a perfect state, 6-2, everything going well, and then a sudden drop in energy. It is what it is. We move on.”

After his final run, Djokovic moved to third place in the PIF ATP rankings. Djokovic now sits on 5,280 points while Alexander Zverev is on 4,605.