Australian Open: Novak Djokovic after victory over Alexander Zverev: "I won't train tomorrow"
Following his wafer-thin quarter-final success , Novak Djokovic spoke about Alexander Zverev about his injury and confirmed that he did not want to train tomorrow, Wednesday.
by Michael Rothschädl
last edit: Feb 16, 2021, 05:02 pm
It has been the dominant topic of this year's Australian Open for days: the fitness level of Novak Djokovic. The Serb apparently injured himself in his third round duel with Taylor Fritz and subsequently made no secret of the fact that he was physically badly damaged. After his round of 16 success over Milos Raonic, the industry leader said he had not given up because the tournament was a Grand Slam.
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Now - despite the physical ailments - the eight-time Australian Open winner is in his favorite tournament for the ninth time in the semifinals, where he will go into the race as a big favorite against the Russian Aslan Karatsev. The Russian is the surprise of the tournament, playing his way into a major semi-final as a qualifier completely out of nowhere. Accordingly, this sheet is also blank for Novak Djokovic, as he openly admitted in an on-court interview after his victory over Sascha Zverev: "I have never seen him play before the Australian Open," said the Serb.
Karatsev "impresses" Djokovic
Now, during the Australian Open, the Russian "impressed" him, as Djokovic explained. "I've seen a few of his matches during the tournament, he has impressed many with his agility and strength from the back of the court. Flat backhand, great forehand, a Russian school player who is able to play the game to dictate from behind with good forehand. His tournament is spectacular: he came back after two sets against Felix (Auger-Aliassime) and today he was very solid against Grigor (Dimitrov) ", said Djokovic in the press conference after his Semi-finals.
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Preparing for the duel with the Russian will be very special for Djokovic, as Djokovic said at the press conference: "I won't train tomorrow either. It's something I've never experienced, I've never had this kind of injury during a Grand Slam, "said the 17-time Grand Slam champion. Now his focus is clearly on recovery, the more he rest, the better he will feel in the semi-finals. "That's why I won't train tomorrow," said the Serb.
Djokovic: "I'm on the right track"
With regard to his injury, the duel with Zverev also brought something positive to light, as Djokovic explained: "From the beginning of the second set on, I felt best after the third round against Fritz, the moment the injury occurred. That means that I'm on the right track, and I'll keep my fingers crossed that it will stay that way for the next two days. I want to continue with my same routine, with my same strategy. I don't think I have to train, because I have to work on something. I've played enough tennis in the last few months and I've got a lot of rhythm. "
For Djokovic, it is now about winning his ninth semifinal at the Australian Open. Whenever the Serb has reached this round of the Grand Slam Down Under, the 33-year-old has also won the tournament. This was also the case in the previous year, when world number one Dominic Thiem was able to bring down in five sets. At that time the 17-time Grand Slam champion was in top shape - but this year the tournament is under a completely different star for the man from Belgrade.