Melbourne (dpa) – After the demonstration of power on his favorite place, Novak Djokovic also directed a verbal threat to his challengers.
“As long as I’m number one in the world and at the top of my game, I have no plans to leave tennis,” said Djokovic after reaching the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. “I have the feeling that I’m not finished yet,” said the 36-year-old Serb after his ruthless 6-0, 6-0, 6-3 in Melbourne against the pitiful Frenchman Adrian Mannarino.
“The first two sets were the best I’ve played in a long time,” said Djokovic after his impressive performance. “All in all it was a great performance,” said the ten-time Melbourne winner. “I’m on a very good path in terms of health and sport,” said Djokovic, who was struggling with a cold at the start of the tournament.
Clear dominance
There was no sign of that against Mannarino. From the first second, Djokovic showed a dominance that is unparalleled in world tennis. For the 58th time he is in the quarter-finals of one of the four Grand Slam tournaments, equaling the record set by Roger Federer, who has long since retired. “I always try to give the best possible performance. The fire still burns in me.”
In the quarterfinals, the 24-time Grand Slam tournament winner will face American Taylor Fritz on Tuesday. The 26-year-old beat last year’s finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas from Greece 7:6 (7:3), 5:7, 6:3, 6:3 and showed a strong performance. Whether this will be enough to endanger Djokovic on Tuesday remains to be seen.
Jannik Sinner is believed to have the best chance of seriously putting Djokovic in trouble in Melbourne this year. The Italian, who beat Djokovic in both the preliminary round of the ATP Finals and the Davis Cup finals at the end of last year, is still without losing a set at Yarra River. On Sunday, Sinner also got rid of the task against the Russian Karen Chatschanow in three sets.
Zverev meets favorite opponent
Alexander Zverev could only meet Djokovic, who has now been unbeaten in Melbourne for 32 games, in a possible final. The Olympic champion will first face one of his favorite opponents in the round of 16 this Monday (6 a.m. CET/Eurosport). 4:0 wins, 8:0 sets – the record against Briton Cameron Norrie couldn’t be better. Nevertheless, Zverev does not expect an easy task. “Of course it’s nice to go into the game with such a record. But of course I still have to take it seriously,” said Zverev.
In the women’s category, defending champion Aryna Sabalenka and US Open champion Coco Gauff continue to rush through the tournament. World number two Sabalenka from Belarus won against Amanda Anisimova from the USA 6:3, 6:2 and reached the quarter-finals just as easily as Gauff. The 19-year-old American effortlessly outclassed Poland’s Magdalena Frech 6:1, 6:2.
The focus for the women this year is primarily on the players from Ukraine. In Jelina Svitolina, Dajana Jastremska and Marta Kostjuk, three women from the war-torn country reached the round of 16. On Sunday, Kostjuk even made it to the quarterfinals for the first time in one of the four Grand Slam tournaments. The 21-year-old clearly won against the Russian Maria Timofeeva 6:2, 6:1.
As has been customary since Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine almost two years ago, she refused to shake hands at the net. “I still can’t understand what all these players are doing here,” she had previously said, referring to the professionals from Russia. Her successes and those of her compatriots make her particularly proud. “This shows how strong the people of Ukraine are,” said Kostyuk.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:240121-99-692210/4
2024-01-21 14:56:04
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