After being badly handicapped by a left thigh injury in the first three rounds of the Australian Open, Novak Djokovic does not consider himself fully out of the woods, but after his display in the round of 16 against Alex De Minaur Monday, he says “to be able to go to the end”.
Serbian 35-year-old Novak Djokovic is aiming for a 22nd Grand Slam title in Melbourne to equal Rafael Nadal’s record. Such a tenth trophy in the Australian Major, the Australian Open, would also allow him to regain the coveted place of world number 1.
Journalist : How do you manage your leg?
Novak Djokovic : “Day to day. We do a lot of things. And all these treatments, these machines that we use, it’s really exhausting. But it was, and it still is, necessary for me to be in a state to play And I’m very happy that my body responded so well: today I felt no pain. It means we’re going in the right direction. But I don’t want to claim victory too soon because I don’t know. not how the body will react tomorrow and for the next game. But what I felt today was fantastic.”
Journalist : A week ago, would you have imagined being there?
Novak Djokovic : “To be honest, I didn’t think then that I would succeed. With the experience of these particular circumstances, I also know that my body reacts well in general. But it happened that the body reacted well one day and badly the next day. That’s why I take it day by day. I’m going to keep doing what I’ve been doing so far because it got me to this point. And I hope that will get even better.”
Journalist : Do you now think you can win the title?
Novak Djokovic “For a week I hadn’t thought about the title, just about being good enough to play the next game…until tonight. Because tonight the way I played, the way I felt, gives me reason to believe that I can go all the way. I have always believed in my ability to go all the way in terms of tennis. But my leg did not give me much hope so far in the tournament as a whole . Tonight, yes.”