Novak Djokovic ‘Grateful’ and ‘Honored’ After Receiving Incredible Support From French Open Crowd During Intense Semifinal Against Jannik Sinner

Novak Djokovic kissed the clay before leaving the court following a tough semifinal against World No.1 Jannik Sinner.

Novak Djokovic ‘Grateful’ and ‘Honored’ After Receiving Incredible Support From French Open Crowd During Intense Semifinal Against Jannik Sinner

Novak Djokovic kissed the clay before leaving Court Philippe-Chatrier (Image via X/The Tennis Letter, Novak Djokovic)

Novak Djokovic crashed out of the 2025 French Open, ending his 23-match winning streak at the venue after an epic semifinal against World No.1 Jannik Sinner. The match, which lasted for over three hours, saw Sinner move into the final for the first time in his career with a 6-4, 7-5, 7-6(3) scoreline.

The semifinal was what one expected it to be. Both the players were not ready to accept defeat without some fight. Djokovic incorporated one-handed backhand drop shots in his attempt to end long rallies and on some occasions, he was successful in doing so.

Most of the fans on Court Philippe-Chatrier were on his side. He said later at the press conference that fans’ cheers and loud applause lifted him up and encouraged him to fight till the end.

The kind of support I received tonight was incredible. I don’t think I’ve ever received this much support in this stadium in my career in big matches against the best players in the world. I’m very very honored to experience that. Obviously not the happiest, because of the loss. But I tried to show my gratitude to the crowd. Because they were terrific in the moments when it seemed like it was going all his way.

While leaving the court, an emotional Djokovic dropped his bags, and put his arms up, soaking in all the applause, thanking them for their support. He then kissed the clay before leaving the court, hinting that the semifinal against Sinner could be his career’s match at Roland Garros.

Novak Djokovic explains why Jannik Sinner deserved to win the match

Jannik Sinner improved his head-to-head record win Novak Djokovic to 5-4. It was also his fourth consecutive victory over the Serb as last year, the latter was beaten in the Australian Open semifinal and the Shanghai Masters final.

Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner
Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner (Image via X/Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner HQ)

Before scheduling the blockbuster semifinal clash with the 24-time Grand Slam champion, Sinner was giving bagels and breadsticks to his opponents, including to Jiri Lehecka, Andrey Rublev, and Alexander Bublik in his previous three matches.

Except for Rublev, both Lehecka and Bublik celebrated their first game win while the crowd was cheering loudly for them. Djokovic, later at the press conference, joked that he too was afraid of being next on the line to be at the receiving end of a 6-1 or 6-0 set loss against the three-time Major champion.

It’s good not to get a bagel or a breadstick from Sinner here tonight. He’s been giving those quite a bit this tournament. In terms of the level of tennis, I think it was three tight sets. 2nd and particularly 3rd could’ve gone my way. One or two points. One or two shots. But he was the deserved winner. I felt constantly under pressure. He didn’t allow me to kind of have time to swing through the ball.

Before this, the last time Djokovic faced a defeat at Roland Garros was in 2022 against 14-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals. In 2024, he withdrew from the quarterfinals because of an injury but came back later at the Paris Olympics to clinch his career’s first gold medal by beating Carlos Alcaraz in a tough final.

It’s Alcaraz whom Sinner has now set up a clash in the championship match. The Spaniard is playing the tournament as the defending champion and moved to consecutive finals after receiving a walkover from Lorenzo Musetti.

The two young rivals have met 11 times with Alcaraz winning seven of those matches, including four consecutive ones. They are pitted against each other for the second time this season following the Italian Open final, which Alcaraz won in straight sets.

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