Djokovic’s quest to be the best

Few players know how to turn adversity into strength as Novak Djokovic does.

When the crowd was cheering for Roger Federer at the 2019 Wimbledon, the Serbian convinced himself that they were egging him on. At the Australian Open 2021, Djokovic tore a muscle in his abdomen during his third round match with Taylor Fritz, but still went on to win the title. When he was being booed for his anti-vaccine stance in 2022, he still managed to compile a 41-6 record and win a Grand Slam too.

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A career of playing second fiddle to fan-favourites Federer and Rafael Nadal has allowed the 35-year-old to develop a mental attitude that simply doesn’t allow him to accept defeat.

Not that defeat would be on his mind coming into the first Grand Slam of the year. The Australian Open is very much his tournament – just as Wimbledon was for Federer or the French Open is for Nadal. With nine titles, this is a tournament (and a country) that he has dominated.

“I always like my chances,” he said when asked how he was feeling ahead of the Australian Open in a moment of not-so-typical modesty.

The Serbian is aiming to win a 10th Australian Open title in Melbourne and, the title, if won, will also bring him equal with Nadal’s tally of 22 Grand Slam titles. This is precisely the kind of challenge that keeps pushing him even now.

“That’s why I keep on playing professional tennis, competition tennis, because I want to be the best, I want to win the biggest tournaments in the world,” he said.

“You have four Slams that historically have been the biggest events in our sport. It’s also one of the biggest reasons why I was really looking forward to come back to Australia; because of my record here. I really love playing in Rod Laver Arena, particularly night sessions. I’ve had plenty of success that hopefully can continue this year.”

“This year” because last year he was deported just after entering Australia because he wasn’t vaccinated. The controversy and the fallout would have taken a heavy toll on most people but Djokovic used the enforced time off to spend more time training.

“As a professional tennis player on the highest level, don’t have much time to really have a longer training block,” Djokovic told reporters. “We have a very long season... you have a few weeks here and there.

“The fact that I wasn’t playing for several months at the beginning of last year allowed me to really get together with my team and work on my body, on my strokes, which has later helped me to achieve some great results.”

And that makes him a scary proposition. A well-rested and fit Djokovic is notoriously hard to beat in a five-setter. He picked up a hamstring niggle in the run-up the Australian Open but he’s been there before and still found ways to win.

“I’ve been struggling with that a bit, to be honest, the last seven days,” he said of the injury.

“But it’s hopefully not a major concern. So far I’ve been able to train, compete and play points, practice sets. So that's a positive sign.

“Obviously I’m being a bit more cautious. I’m not going full out on the training sessions, conserving the energy. Hopefully it won't cause an issue for me then.”

The fourth seed faces Spain’s Roberto Carballes Baena in round one and Nick Kyrgios is in the same quarter as him. But the Australian could play ninth seed Holger Rune in the third round and fifth seed Andrey Rublev in the fourth round before the quarter-final clash.

“There’s a lot of youngsters now that are very hungry, that want to win,” said Djokovic. “They want to take a scalp off you on the big stadium. I know that.

“But experience of being in these kind of particular circumstances helps I think to have the right approach and do things in a proper way.

“Because I know when I’m healthy and playing my best, on this court (Rod Laver Arena) I have chances really against anybody.”

The real question though is whether anyone really has a chance against him.

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