Novak Djokovic details why he didn't withdraw from Australian Open

Saturday, 21 January 2023 at 16:40

byAlfredo Bassanelli

Novak Djokovic and his hamstring injury is without a doubt the main talking point of the first Grand Slam of the season, and after his third-round match, he provided another update.

In his third-round match, Djokovic defeated Grigor Dimitrov in three sets, and once again, he required some medical attention. Despite that, he was very solid on the court and showed that he can beat seeded players even if he's not 100% fit. After the match, he spoke about his injury and how it developed during the match.

“It kind of always starts well in the past few matches, including this one, and then some movement happens and then [the leg] gets worse. The pills kicked in, some hot cream and stuff. That works for a little bit, then it doesn't work again. It's really a roller coaster."

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“It requires a lot of energy that is being spent from my side mentally and physically, to deal with the match with my opponent and also not the ideal physical state. But it is what it is. It's a kind of circumstances that you have to accept. I'm just very grateful that I'm actually able to play. The way it looked just before the tournament started, I thought that it wouldn't be possible. I'm still here and still holding on.”

Already before the event started, the 21-time Grand Slam champion, who is attempting to win his tenth Australian Open title, knew that he may not be able to finish the event, but still decided to give it a try.

“I did not want to pull out for the tournament because I wanted to see how it's going to feel on the court. The first match was good. The second match I struggled a lot. I had a couple of moments where it was really bad today, as well. But I managed to, as I said, survive and kind of pull it through. I'll take it match by match. I don't know what awaits, but I do hope and I have faith for the best.”