First time since his injury-plagued triumph at the 2023 Australian Open, Novak Djokovic appeared in a competitive match on the ATP Tour and it was a victorious return for him.
In the first round of the 2023 Dubai Championships, the 22-time Grand Slam champion defeated Tomas Machac despite heroic efforts from the Czech player. Despite his win, Djokovic is still cautious about his injury as he is aware that muscle memory can play against him and the injury can appear again, as it did for his rival Carlos Alcaraz.
“I wasn't thinking about my leg today, which is great. It was not bothering me at all. That's great news. 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 also talked about his performance and his opponent, who played one of the best matches of his career, hitting 34 winners while making only 17 unforced errors against the world no. 1 and the biggest favourite to win in Dubai.
“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. [I will] take it day by day and see where it can go. Credit to him, he did surprise me. Never faced him. I did my analysis of his game and prepared myself well. 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.”
Djokovic, who recently broke the record for most weeks spent as world no. 1, spoke also about the upcoming generation of players. Previously, Daniil Medvedev and Carlos Alcaraz took the no. 1 spot away from him and the Serb is sure that it will happen once again in the future, but he believes in his ability to do the same.
“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. They're playing a lot of tournaments, a lot of weeks. I'm not playing as much, and I don't 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.”
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