Novak Djokovic claimed that the fire is still burning after defeating Adrian Mannarino to make it to the Australian Open quarterfinals and maintain his chances of winning a record 25 Grand Slam titles.
The Serbian proved why he is the overwhelming favorite to win an 11th title at Melbourne Park on Sunday by dominating his French opponent 6-0, 6-0, 6-3 at Rod Laver Arena. Despite being 36 years old, Djokovic acknowledged that the pressure of practice and matches was as high as ever. He had anticipated less stress this season.
Djokovic expressed his thoughts after the win and said: “You can see it even today. I was 6-0, 2-0 up. It was a long game, and I was like going on with heated discussions with my box. I always look for the best performance from myself so I put a lot of effort into making it happen every single day. When it doesn’t happen, I’m frustrated.”
He further said: “It’s still there. The fire is still burning. I think that’s what allowed me to be where I am and achieve the things that I have achieved.”
Djokovic concluded his discussion and said: “I feel while being No. 1 and still on top of the game, I don’t feel like leaving tennis in that position. I feel like I want to keep on going. When I feel that I am not able to compete at the highest level with the guys and be a contender for a Grand Slam title, then I’ll probably consider retiring. But that can change. I mean, a lot of things can change.”
Novak Djokovic says he likely won’t leave tennis while he’s on top of the game & world #1, he’ll consider retirement when he’s not a contender in Grand Slams:
“I actually talked about it few times the last year or so, that I feel while being No. 1 and still on top of the game, I… pic.twitter.com/Gq1OigEJVF
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) January 21, 2024
Djokovic at the Australian Open, ranking, and results in 2024
LWWWWWWLWW Ranked no.1, Djokovic has achieved a compiled 6-1 win-loss record in 2024. Djokovic is currently competing at the Australian Open where he managed to beat the world no.187 Dino Prizmic 6-2 6-75 6-3 6-4, the world no.43 Alexei Popyrin 6-3 4-6 7-64 6-3, the world no.32 Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-3 6-3 7-62 and the world no.19 Adrian Mannarino 6-0 6-0 6-3.
Novak Djokovic will take on the world no.12 Taylor Fritz in the quarter. Their head to head is 8-0 for Djokovic.
The Serbian won 98 titles in his career: 52 on hard courts, 19 on clay courts, 19 on indoor courts and 8 on grass courts. (See the list of his titles)
He is also scheduled to play at the Wimbledon (Wimbledon) on the 1st of July and U.S. Open (U.S. Open) on the 26th of August.
Novak Djokovic |
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