World No.1 Novak Djokovic has admitted that his performance at the Australian Open this year was one of the toughest he had to deal with just moments after lifting the title.
The 18-time Grand Slam winner disposed of Daniil Medvedev in straight sets to win the title for a record ninth time in his career. Djokovic’s latest triumph on the Rod Laver Arena followed what has been recent uncertainty over his fitness. In the fourth round of the tournament he was troubled by an abdominal issue and even had one stage said there was a chance he may have to withdraw from the tournament. Djokovic had an MRI scan but didn’t disclose his results to the public.
Besides the injury trouble, the Serbian had to also go through quarantine along with all other players but was able to conduct his in Adelaide under a deal scored by Tennis Australia. It was during his two-week quarantine when he came under criticism from the local press after sending a letter to Tennis Australia chief Craig Tiley suggesting changes to the system. The private letter was leaked to the media.
“Emotionally It’s been one of the toughest tournaments I’ve had in my life’” Djokovic told Eurosport.
“I really had to lock myself in the shell, so to say. Avoid any distractions and just trying to focus all of my energy into recovery and mental preparation for what is coming up.”
The 33-year-old says he had been surprised by his recovery from the injury issue. During the trophy ceremony, he paid tribute to his team and continued to do so after speaking with media outlets.
“I think with my team I managed to do that really well. I also pleasantly surprised myself with the ability to recover and stay tough when it matters the most,’ he said.
“I will take a lot of positives from this tournament but also I’ll take a break.” He added.
Djokovic’s win continues the dominance of the Big Three in the majors who has now won 15 out of the past 16 major tournaments. The only exception is Dominic Thiem who won the US Open last year.
“People have been talking about the next generation takeover like it already happened, but the top spots of the rankings are still held by Rafa and myself (…) they are already there, but Rafa, Roger and myself are still giving them a hard time,” the world No.1 commented.
Following his latest victory, Djokovic will lead the ATP rankings by 2180 points when they are updated on Monday. Next month he will surpass Roger Federer for most weeks spent as world No.1 in the history of men’s tennis.
