Novak Djokovic has kept his Australian Open chances alive on Sunday as he continues to deal with an injury issue that has hampered him since Friday.
After missing a day of training yesterday the world No.1 fought his way to a 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-1, 6-4, win over Milos Raonic in the fourth round. The late-night encounter, which ended at 12:25am local time, was by no means a walk in the park for the Serbian who looked to be in discomfort during stages of the match and let out bursts of frustration. Nevertheless, he managed to survive the test with the help of 41 winners and 10 aces.
“It’s (the injury) is good enough to compete and play. Obviously I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t in the condition that is sufficient for me to get onto the court and give myself a chance to win a match,” Djokovic told Eurosport’s Game, Schett and Mats.
“It’s not ideal. I felt better (today). I didn’t have much of a preparation for this match and I haven’t hit any tennis balls since two nights ago.”
Djokovic headed into his fourth round encounter with a massive injury cloud looming over his head following the misfortunes of two days ago. In his previous match the eight-time champion struggled with an abdominal injury during what he described as ‘one of the most special wins’ of his career. Labelling the issue as a muscle tear, he also cast doubt on playing against Raonic to begin with.
Initially it appeared as if those physical woes were a thing of the past for the world No.1 who started the match moving freely around the court in typical Djokovic fashion. Twice during the opener he had a chance to break his opponent but failed to capitalize due to some blistering serving from Raonic. There was little to distinguish between the two throughout the opener but there were some slight indicators that the top seed was still experiencing some sort of discomfort.
Amid the glimpses of pain on his face, Djokovic continued to battle on the Rod Laver Arena with the help of some costly Raonic unforced errors in the opening tiebreak. Coming out on top in a 18-shot rally the world No.1 worked his way to a trio of set points. He failed to convert his first but had better luck on his second attempt after a shot from his opponent crashed into the net.
The proceedings came to a temporary halt during the early stages of the second set due to a medical time out but it was Raonic who needed assistance. The former top-10 player had treatment on his right foot which was taped up. Resuming play it was the Canadian who drew blood by breaking for the first time with the help of a forehand cross-court winner. The breakthrough was enough to guide him to levelling the match and taking a set off Djokovic for the first time in a major in his career.
Perhaps the best painkiller for Djokovic occurred during the third frame after he broke Raonic two consecutive times. It was visible that he was far from his best in terms of physicality but still he managed to find a way to tame his rival who started to falter with his own game.
Fighting his way to the finish line Djokovic continued to contend with some heavy hitting from Raonic before finally prevailing in the fourth. A patchy Raonic service game saw him produce a series of errors, which enabled a rejuvenated Djokovic to break once again but this time it handed him the chance to serve the match out. A task he achieved with relative ease.
“I warmed up a couple of hours before tonight’s match and I wanted to see how I feel. If I wasn’t in a condition I would have pulled out,” the world No.1 stated afterwards.
“It’s a Grand Slam and for me at this stage of my career it means everything. The four events of the year I give everything I have in me to have a chance to compete. If it was any other tournament I probably wouldn’t be playing.”
Seeking to close in on the all-time Grand Slam record which is currently jointly held by Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, Djokovic has pledged to give his all. Although he admits that his determination might backfire on him.
“Right now it is all about recovery. I’m not thinking about any training or anything. I just want to feel better as the tournament progresses,” he said.
“Because I have been on very strong painkillers for 48 hours I don’t know exactly the damage that is being done but there is a risk of more damaged being done than before.”
Through to the quarter-finals of the Australian Open for the 12th time in his career, the 33-year-old will next lock horns with Germany’s Alexander Zverev. A player who he leads 5-2 in their head-to-head and defeated at the ATP Cup last month. Zverev defeated Dusan Lajovic in straight sets during his fourth round match.
“You’ve got to play your best tennis, especially here (at the Australian Open,” Zverev previewed. “This is his favourite court, his favourite tournament. To be able to have a chance against him, you have to be playing extremely well.’
“You have to be playing aggressive tennis being the one that dominates.’
“I’m looking forward to the challenge. I think it’s one of the toughest challenges in our sport to be playing Novak at this Grand Slam in later rounds.”
It will be the second time Djokovic has played Zverev in a Grand Slam after the 2019 French Open.
MORE TO FOLLOW
