The Rod Laver Arena boss is fine.
Very well.
His opponent in the quarters Andrey Rublev is warned this Wednesday.
The nine-time winner is more than ever the favorite for a tenth crown at the Australian Open.
After being badly handicapped by a left thigh injury in the first three rounds, the Serb put on a show of strength against Australian Alex de Minaur and assured that he thinks he "
can go all the way
", almost feeling more pain, even if he doesn't consider himself "
out of the woods yet
".
“
It means we are going in the right direction.
But I don't want to declare victory too soon because I don't know how the body will react tomorrow and for the next game.
»
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Australian Open: ladies schedule and results
Australian Open: men's schedule and results
Read alsoAustralian Open: Djokovic unplayable against De Minaur
However, he displayed a certain skepticism at the end of the second round after his relatively laborious qualification against the Frenchman Enzo Couacaud where he had assured to suffer a lot from a thigh injury contracted in the semi-finals of his first tournament of the season in Adelaide. , a tournament that he still won.
Ancient history, obviously.
Which leads to the question of the reality of this injury, which he talked about a lot at the start of the tournament.
What a Rafael Nadal for example does not do.
Did the Serb do too much?
For some followers and fans, it is.
It's fun to see how the narrative around me is always different from other players.
Novak Djokovic
The King of Melbourne did not hide his annoyance regretting and denouncing a different treatment from that reserved for other players.
And the unloved "
let go
" in front of the media of his country.
"
Only my injuries are called into question: when the other players are injured, they are victims, whereas when it's me, supposedly I'm pretending.
I don't feel the need to prove anything to anyone tonight.
It's fun to see how the narrative around me is always different from other players.
I'm used to it, it gives me extra strength and motivation.
For that, I thank those who doubt me.
»
Read alsoAustralian Open: Novak Djokovic, questions for an exception
In 2021, the man with 21 Grand Slam titles had won in Melbourne despite an abdominal tear contracted in the 3rd round.
Legitimate questions then flared around the real nature of his injury.
The native of Belgrade had assured that in an upcoming documentary, he would show the medical examinations of the time.
Two years later, the famous documentary has still not been released: "
Whether I broadcast the medical examinations in my documentary or on social networks, it will depend on how I feel...
"
