Novak Djokovic, a ruthless player, warned Monday that his hamstring injury was under control after his “best day” at the Australian Open. He surged into a Melbourne Park quarterfinal.
To move closer to the 22nd major crown and 10th Australian title, Alex de Minaur was defeated by the fourth seed from Serbia.
The 35-year old was again fastened to his left thigh, and he was on a mission. He spent as little energy as possible, achieving a 2hrs 6mins romp that got him within inches of Rafael Nadal’s slam record.
Djokovic injured his hamstring while he was attempting to win the 92nd title at Adelaide International this month. He has been suffering from it ever since.
He moved against De Minaur and set up a clash against fifth seed Andrey Rublev to secure a semi-final spot. This was after the Russian beat Holger Rune, a Danish teenager, in a five-set match on the same court. Djokovic said that he didn’t feel any pain today and would be returning to the top of the world if he wins the tournament.
“I am grateful to my medical team, physiotherapist, God, and everyone who helped me. I will keep going.
“I don’t want too much to celebrate, but I’m still playing in the tournament.
“I felt very good in the first match in Melbourne, but not so much in the second match. I know that things can change quickly so I don’t take it for granted.
“But I’m really happy with the way that I played today, how I moved and the way that I hit the ball. “I played the best match this year.”
Djokovic said that he was taking anti-inflammatory drugs to “mild the pain”.
“But I had no choice but to work with my team. This was the best day of the tournament so far and I hope it continues that way.”
Very high level
Victory placed him in a 13th Melbourne semifinal to make it fourth on the all time list, behind Roger Federer and Nadal.
He is now in his 54th Grand Slam quarterfinal, second only to Federer’s 1958.
De Minaur was never satisfied, even though he won his first win against a top five player at the Paris Masters in November.
Djokovic has won 25 consecutive matches at Australian Open and has not lost Melbourne since 2018.
De Minaur said, “I faced a very strong opponent today with a very high standard.” “I believe what I saw today was Novak at his best, I would think. If that’s his level, then I believe he’s the man who will win the title.”
Djokovic was always a young Australian player and he broke to love in game six. He consolidated his lead without losing a point for 5-2.
De Minaur was struggling to cope under pressure and he sent a baseline backhand long to give the Serb another break. The set took just 35 minutes.
De Minaur only managed to get 54 percent of his first serves in, while Djokovic got 76 percent. The winners were 9-1 for the dominant Serb.
De Minaur won sixth game of the second set. This ended a streak of nine consecutive losses. However, it was only a brief respite.
Djokovic pulled his hamstring during the changeover, and applied pressure immediately on De Minaur’s first service game to break again. This almost ended the match.
