Djokovic believes astonishing Australian Open level is sending a "message" to rivals
ATP
Novak Djokovic has comfortably dispatched Alex de Minuar and Andrey Rublev in his last two Australian Open matches with the loss of just 12 games.
The nine-time Melbourne champion appears to be on an unstoppable march to his tenth major in Australia and 22 Grand Slam title - arguably reaching levels even he hasn't reached before.
The Serb has firmly re-established himself as the main man on the Rod Laver Arena, a lion rampant who believes his two demolition jobs have sent a message to anyone who may make the mistake of challenging him in his lair.
During the Rublev match, he roared in celebration as he fired a winner into the corner to save a second break point.
And its these moments the current World No. 5 - who will reclaim the No.1 berth if he wins the event for a tenth time - feels are the ones the other three men remaining in the draw should fear.
He told Eurosport:
“The last two matches I think I’ve been really strong in the important moments. And this is kind of a message that you want to send out there to all your opponents. I know everyone is watching my matches, I’m watching everyone else’s matches. Now it’s down to the last four guys, and I’m looking forward to it.”
Tommy Paul, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Karen Khachanov are all the stands in the way of Djokovic being crowned the Wizard of Oz one again, beginning his astonishing run in the continent when winning his first ever major here in 2008.
“I always dreamed big, and I dare to dream big, which is kind of the way I’ve been brought up," he added.
Djokovic took time during his on-court interview with Jim Courier to give love to Roger Federer and get the crowd wishing his mum a happy birthday.
