Novak Djokovic stunned at Australian Open: Looking back at his other upset losses
Novak Djokovic’s pursuit of a record seventh Australian Open was unexpectedly stunted by 117th-ranked Denis Istomin.
The second-round loss to Istomin was only Djokovic’s only defeat within the first two rounds of a Grand Slam since 2008. The loss ranks high among the five most surprising losses of Djokovic’s career and here's a look at some others:
Rio Olympics, 2016 – first round
No, 2016 wasn’t always kind to Djokovic.
But his first-round loss to Juan Martin del Potro literally brought Djokovic to tears.
Del Potro, a former U.S. Open champ, was ranked 145th in the world at the time and had undergone multiple wrist surgeries in the years since they faced off in the bronze medal match at the 2012 London Games.
Djokovic, who was the top-ranked men’s player at the Olympics, called the 7-6 (4), 7-6 (2) loss to Del Potro “one of the toughest losses in my career. An Olympic gold medal is the only major career feat that Djokovic has yet to attain.
Rogers Cup, 2014 – third round
Djokovic has usually at least has been competitive during the major upsets of his career, although it wasn’t the case against Jo Wilfried Tsonga at this Toronto tournament.
Thirteenth-seeded Tsonga needed only 63 minutes to upend Djokovic, who held the world’s No. 1 ranking, 6-2, 6-2. It was a rematch of the 2008 Australian Open final, where Djokovic earned his first Grand Slam title.
"Just nothing was going," Djokovic said. "No baseline, no serve, no return. So just generally (a) very bad day, very poor performance."
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Australian Open, 2017 – second round
Djokovic entered Thursday’s match against Uzbekistan’s Istomin as the two-time defending Australian Open winner.
The five-set loss, 7-6 (8) 5-7, 2-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4, was less about Djokovic struggling and had more to do with Istomin playing the match of his life. Istomin had only beaten one top-10 opponent over his prior 33 matches and was 0-10 in Grand Slams against Top 10 players.
In the five prior meetings between the two players, Istomin only managed to win one of 13 sets.
“He played obviously above his level. You got to give him credit for that,” Djokovic said after the match. “Many things came together for him today. He’s a well-deserved winner.”
Monte Carlo Open, 2016 – second round
Ranked No. 1 at the time, Djokovic’s loss to No. 55 Jiry Vesely was one of the most notable upsets of 2016.
The 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 Vesely came on clay, a surface Djokovic has become more proficient on over the years. The loss was the first to a player ranked No. 50 or worse in six years and halted Djokovic’s 24-set winning streak.
“I have to congratulate the better player today on the court and just move on from there,” Djokovic said after the match. “It is what it is. Sometimes you don't play your best and you lose.”
Djokovic rebounded and, two months later, won his first French Open, the 12th Grand Slam title of his career.
Wimbledon, 2016 – third round
Sam Querrey hadn’t beaten a world No. 1 in eight previous attempts until he took down Djokovic in four sets.
The 28-year-old Southern California native dominated early, winning the first two sets as part of a 7-6 (6), 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (5) victory. The win by Querrey, who was ranked No. 41 in the world at the time, halted Djokovic’s 30-match win streak at majors.
“I managed to win four Grand Slams in a row — in two different seasons,” Djokovic said. “I want to try to focus on that rather than on failure."
PHOTOS: Best of the Australian Open early rounds