Novak Djokovic has remained optimistic over his wrist injury as he looks to win an eleventh Australian Open title.
The Serb suffered the injury at the United Cup and has been taking every precaution possible ahead of the first Grand Slam of the season.
However this isn’t the first time Djokovic has entered the Australian Open injured as he has won the Australian Open before with a hamstring and a stomach muscle tear before.
Speaking ahead of his title defence in Melbourne Djokovic spoke positively about his injury and is looking forward to the next fortnight, “My wrist is good,” the Serb was quoted by the ATP website as saying in his pre-tournament press conference.
“I had time from the last match against De Minaur in the United Cup to my first match here to recover. I’ve been training well. Practice sessions pain-free so far. It’s good. It’s all looking good. Let’s see how it goes…
“It’s not as bad as some other injuries I had here. 2021 and last year I had worse injuries that I had to deal with. So, yeah, I mean, I can’t predict whether it’s going to come back. Once I start playing more matches, stress levels go higher. I don’t know. We have to find out.”
Djokovic will be hoping his injury holds up as he looks for a historic eleventh Australian Open title.
The 36 year-old also spoke about the importance of relaxing as he detailed the several challenges that are ahead when competing at a Grand Slam, “Obviously during the Grand Slams you have lots of challenges, mental, physical, emotional,” Djokovic explained.
“There’s a lot of activities happening even on the days when you don’t have matches. It’s good to have places where you can just rewind, relax, rejuvenate and kind of gather all the necessary energy for the next day.
“I like to isolate a bit more. In a place like New York, for example, I stay in New Jersey. I stay with my friend where I’m in complete nature, isolation. It just allows me to relax and recharge.
“I like that kind of balance because Grand Slams are completely different kind of energy, vibe tournaments than any other event that we have on the tour.”
Djokovic will begin his Australian Open campaign against Croatian qualifier Dino Prizmic on Sunday evening local time.
Djokovic’s Projected Run To The Title:
R1: Dino Prizmic [Q]
R2: Alexei Popyrin
R3: Tomas Martin Etcheverry [30]
R4: Ben Shelton [16]
QF: Stefanos Tsitsipas [7]
SF: Jannik Sinner [4]
Final: Carlos Alcaraz [2]
