On the verge of retirement in the third round because of abdominal pain, Novak Djokovic had made the bet to take all the risks to try to advance in the tournament. Thursday, he qualified for his ninth final in Melbourne by sweeping Aslan Karatsev in three sets (6-3, 6-4, 6-2) and assured: “I’ll be ready for battle”.
You seemed to be moving normally on the court against Karatsev. Are you surprised at the way your body responded after your injury?
Yes and no. I am actually surprised at how I felt tonight (Thursday). It exceeded my wildest hopes. But at the same time, I had already had this type of experience in the past where I had to recover as quickly as possible. All the players are different and I, obviously with the help of all the people around me, I have this ability to recover quickly. But I didn’t expect to play without pain tonight (Thursday). But I played without pain.
“Recovery remains my priority”
How do you see your ninth final at the Australian Open on Sunday, against Daniil Medvedev or Stefanos Tsitsipas?
I had never felt so good as tonight (Thursday) since the start of the tournament. Physically, but also mentally. I hit the ball very well, varied the rhythms. I always left him in limbo and served well in the moments when I had to get out of complicated situations, like at the end of the second set. I am very satisfied with my performance, it couldn’t have been better. Before the last game of a Grand Slam tournament, the timing couldn’t have been better for me to play my best tennis. But I’m also happy to have two days off. Recovery remains my priority. I have played enough tennis, I feel good on the court. Whoever my opponent is on Sunday, I’ll be ready for the battle, for the toughest game of the tournament. I will train on Saturday depending on my opponent to work on specific details. But looking at the way I felt, I know I have a chance and, for sure, I will be aiming for the title.
With all this backdrop of quarantine and injury, is this the hardest final of your nine in Melbourne?
It’s hard to make comparisons because I had never experienced an injury like the one I had in the third round. And so I never had to deal with such a situation. But I also had difficult matches, against hitters: Fritz, Raonic, Tiafoe, Zverev, they are all big servers, they all have a big game. I had to play my best. And it exhausted me, especially the game against Zverev (in the quarter-finals). But I knew that after I triumphed over Zverev things would improve. I had this premonition which was confirmed today. But it’s hard to compare because I’ve played so many Grand Slam tournaments… Some have been phenomenal where I only lost a set or even none to get to the final. Others, where I played several matches in five sets to achieve it. This time the circumstances were unique. I take many lessons from each of my Grand Slam tournaments to move forward. So yeah, I’ve had to pull my body to the limit for the past five days, but I’m very happy to be going in the right direction, whether it’s injury or whatever. “
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