MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — It took about a week for Novak Djokovic to go from freaking out about whether he could even play a match with his sore left leg to thinking he’s fit to win the Australian Open.
It was what he did on Monday by completing a game without physical discomfort and almost perfect in the round of 16.
“Tonight, how I played, how I felt, gives me reason to believe that I can reach the last goal here,” said Djokovic after sweeping Australian Alex de Minaur (22nd seed) 6-2, 6-1, 6-2. series) to settle for the 13th time in the quarterfinals at Melbourne Park and for the 54th time in all Grand Slam tournaments.
“I always have the conviction that I can reach the ultimate goal for my tennis,” added Djokovic, whose 21 major championships include nine in Australia. “But how I had felt in the leg before tonight I was not very hopeful with my options for the whole tournament. Tonight I do feel positive that I will be able to achieve it ”.
A year ago, Djokovic was deported from the country before the start of the Australian Open for not having been vaccinated with COVID-19. He has not yet been inoculated, but the government’s health protocols have been relaxed.
After struggling with his leg in his first three of the tournament last week, with some falls, sometimes calling for the help of a physiotherapist, the 35-year-old Serbian exhibited his usual flexibility to reach every corner of the pitch in the Rod Laver arena. .
Djokovic won 42 of the 64 points that required five or more shots. He was superior 26-9 in game winners. He won each of his 12 games on serve, without facing a single break point. Regarded as the best in tennis for returns, perhaps the best in history, Djokovic had a dozen break chances and capitalized on half.
He broke the serve of the local hope to go up 4-2 in the first set and repeated it to kill it. Other breaks put him in front 2-0 and 4-0 in the second. And he broke to lead 1-0 and 3-0 in the third.
“He was under constant pressure. I had no free points in every game with my serve. It was an uphill battle from the beginning,” said de Minaur. “I was never able to plug into the game, complicate it, or put pressure on it.”
Djokovic noted that he felt “fantastic” and “in great shape in terms of mobility and movement.”
In addition to taking “a lot” of painkillers for his hamstring, Djokovic said he used “various treatments, machines and other things” to improve his leg. He cautioned that “I don’t want to celebrate prematurely because I don’t know how the physique is going to respond. tomorrow or in the next game”.
His rival on duty will be the Russian Andrey Rublev. The fifth seed will enter Wednesday’s matchup with an 0-6 record in the quarterfinal round at the Slams. The other duel of that day will be starred by two unseeded twenty-something Americans who had never gone so far in a major: Ben Shelton and Tommy Paul.
The other quarterfinal matches in the men’s division will be settled on Tuesday: the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas (3rd seed) against the Czech Jiri Lehecka (not seeded) and the Russian Karen Khachanov (18th) against the American Sebastian Korda (29th).
Djokovic is the only one of the eight who has been crowned champion in a Grand Slam. And Tsitsipas is the only one who could reach the final of a final and lost it — guess right — to Djokovic at the French Open in 2021.
“I’ve been in this situation so many times before,” Djokovic said, leaning back in his chair and placing his palms on his chest. I need to do. I have to keep an eye on the other games, to see what the others are doing. We’ll see what happens”.
