Djokovic suffers first defeat in Australia for six years as wrist 'discomfort' continues

After six years and 43 matches, Novak Djokovic finally lost in Australia.

The Serbian has made this part of the season in this part of the world his own playground; in the time since Djokovic last tasted defeat Down Under, in the fourth round of the 2018 Australian Open, the world No 1 has reeled off four of his record 10 Australian Open titles, collected a smattering of warm-up trophies, and gone undefeated when representing Serbia in team events.

The only year in that time he went trophyless and failed to add to his record was in 2022 when he was deported at the end of his infamous Covid vaccine saga. Only the Australian government was capable of halting the Djokovic juggernaut.

And, now, Alex de Minaur. The pair had met once before, almost 12 months ago at the Australian Open, but even with the home crowd behind him, De Minaur was utterly dominated by the eventual champion.

Quite clearly, there was very little scar tissue from that experience when the world No 12 strode on to the court in Perth. Many players shy away from the challenge of facing Djokovic but a player nicknamed "Demon" for his speed and tenacity is not one of them.

"When you go up against Novak you have to go out and enjoy it and back yourself, and no matter what, keep fighting until the end," the Australian said on court after his deserved 6-4, 6-4 victory in the United Cup team event. "Today was my day and I’m happy that I was able to get the win."

De Minaur is one of the fastest players on the ATP Tour and possesses exceptional movement, but his lack of big weapons has left him short when up against the game's elite players. That was not the case on Wednesday when he outserved and out-rallied Djokovic, bringing a new level of aggression to his game