Novak Djokovic suffered a scare Tuesday on the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, the place he wanted to claw by means of a final-set tie-break to dispatch Tomas Machac. But the World No. 1 stated there was good news past the consequence.
“I wasn’t thinking about my leg today, which is great. It was not bothering me at all. That’s great news,” Djokovic stated. “But [an] injury is an injury. There’s a muscle memory and it plays with your mind a little bit, it plays with your biomechanics, with your preparation for the shot, execution for the shot. I do feel a difference definitely comparing to the level that I had and the kind of execution I had in Australia.”
Djokovic Survives Thrilling Machac Test In Dubai
It was in Melbourne the place Djokovic lifted his tenth Australian Open trophy regardless of battling by means of an harm, which noticeably hindered his motion within the early rounds. After discovering a well beyond Machac, the 35-year-old is now 13-0 on the season.
“Of course, there’s a lot to be happy about tonight. I think the fighting spirit was there. Tie-break was as good as it can be,” Djokovic stated. “[I will] take it day by day and see where it can go.”
While Djokovic admitted he’s nonetheless discovering his greatest kind, the Serbian additionally complimented Machac, who was attempting to earn the largest win of his profession on the ATP 500 occasion.
“Credit to him, he did surprise me. Never faced him. I did my analysis of his game and prepared myself well,” Djokovic said. “Credit to him, he went for his shots, especially down the line backhand, serve and volley. He didn’t miss one volley. It was unbelievable. He played on such a high quality. He wasn’t missing at all.”
After the match, the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships celebrated Djokovic’s 378th week atop the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. This week the Serbian handed Stefanie Graf for probably the most weeks because the world’s No. 1 singles participant in males’s or ladies’s tennis.
378 weeks on the prime. Novak Djokovic. Elite.#DDFTennis #ATP @atptour pic.twitter.com/VsO9ipbmZi
— Dubai Tennis Champs (@DDFTennis) February 28, 2023
“I work as hard as anybody else. I’m really, really committed to the sport. And I try. There’s a lot of challengers that are coming up in the new generations. Alcaraz being there, probably one of the leaders of the next generation. Rune. Then you have Tsitsipas. These guys are just playing on a high level constantly,” Djokovic stated. “They’re taking part in loads of tournaments, loads of weeks. I’m not taking part in as a lot, and I do not plan to play as many weeks as they do.
“I guess eventually they’ll take the No. 1, then I’ll bring it back again, then they’ll take it again, then we go in circles.”
Source web site: www.atptour.com
