Novak Djokovic spoke about Danielle Collins and Alex De Minaur positively in two different ways after his Australian Open victory.
The ten-time champion did not hang about after his dominant win over 26th seed Tomas Machac, winning 6-1 6-4 6-4.
Having lost to the Czech Republican in Geneva last year, it was sweet revenge for Djokovic who moved into the last 16.
Speaking after the match Djokovic told reporters that it was his best match of the tournament, “Best match of the tournament for me. I didn’t have too many drops in the concentration and the level of tennis,” Djokovic started his press conference by saying.
“Physically struggled I think at the beginning of the second for those, whatever, 15, 20 minutes. You know, but I managed to turn things around from an early break loss in the second. Rebroke his serve, and then I was break up and held the serve all the way through.
“So that second set was a key, obviously, to get that one under my belt and, you know, found my serves when I needed to. Had a break after that break. In the third I felt fresher and played really well to close out the match. I knew it was going to be a tough test. I didn’t expect, to be honest — I always hope, but I didn’t expect to win in straight sets against him, because he’s in red-hot form, and I’m still to find the best tennis myself.
“But I think I prepared myself very well and played a terrific match.”
During the match Djokovic had trouble with the crowd once again and explained his frustrations during his celebrations.
The Serb talked about the trouble and praised Danielle Collins for her reaction to the crowd during her match yesterday, “Yeah, few people here and there. Yeah. I understand you have few drinks more, and then you get into it. But, you know, on the court it’s frustrating, and it comes in a bad moment,” Djokovic said.
“If it’s repetitive, it happens for an hour, somebody tells you in the corner things that you don’t want to hear and constant provoking, then of course it comes to the point where you just respond. So I tried to tolerate, but then at one point I had to respond, and that’s all. That’s all to say about it.
“I loved her response. I loved it, everything she said on the court, off the court. Big fan of Danielle Collins after that. I was before, but now, big fan. I heard some comments of people that she shouldn’t have said that or that.
“I think she handled it really well. I don’t think I would be that polite, and I know exactly the feeling. So I think she was funny, smart, and just big fan of what she did. Big fan.”
Another person Djokovic spoke highly about is Alex De Minaur, who is Australia’s best chance of Grand Slam glory in singles.
The Serb said that De Minaur has improved his game massively and rates him as a threat in Melbourne, “Terrific improvement. I think his serve became a big weapon,” Djokovic praised De Minaur.
“Maybe it wasn’t before. He was always fast, so he kept that, I mean, that speed on the court. I think he’s coming into, like, he’s approaching much more than he used to do. We all know how good he’s defending, but his offense has improved a lot.
“His court positioning has improved. You know, it’s not a surprise that he ended up top 10 last season in his best season yet. So I think we’re gonna see still great things from Alex in this tournament. I have watched him play a few matches, and the level is great. Level is great. He’s got the crowd behind him. He’s playing really well.”
Next up for Djokovic in the second week is Jiri Lehecka who comes into the Australian Open having won the title in Brisbane.
Djokovic is expecting a tough match in Sunday’s showdown, “Lehecka has won Brisbane and is in really good form, winning comfortably his first three rounds here,” Djokovic explained.
“Lehecka is one of the fittest guys on the tour, and I think his serve is underestimated. He’s a big weapon. Wins a lot of free points in the first serve. Well, the more matches you win, the more confident you are, so I’m sure this kind of matchup comes at the right time for him.
“I’m sure he feels that he can beat me. You know, if we play on center court, you know, night session, it would be a great matchup. I’m looking forward to it. I like the way I played tonight, and I can expect another aggressive player that plays very flat, similar to what I experienced tonight, and hopefully the result will be same.”
