Novak Djokovic: 'I couldn't ask for a better situation to be in at the moment'

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A match without history, the one played at the Rod Laver Arena in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open between Novak Djokovic and Andrey Rublev. A crushing victory for "Nole" by 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 that leaves no room for interpretations. In his three previous meetings against the Serbian star, the Russian had won one and lost two. The victory came at the ATP 250 tournament in Belgrade, the homeland of the 21-time Slam champion. Instead, the two defeats came in the ATP finals in Turin, with quite eloquent results. A difficult stop to digest for Rublev, who had defeated Dominic Thiem, Emil Ruusuvuori, Daniel Evans and the promising Holger Rune in the previous rounds. Here are the words of the number 6 in the world at the press conference. "I mean, I don't know what impressed me more than Djokovic, because I knew he was playing against one of the best players in the world. He knew it was going to be very hard. He is already. It is very simple. I think he has played much better compared to our last matches, especially compared to the one in Turin, in the ATP finals. He served very well. I honestly didn't think about his hamstring problem or a plan to get him to backhand, I just tried to tell myself not to give up, not to give up mentally to stay in the game, you never know what can happen, but he he really played too well. It has been a difficult afternoon but I have had a great time here, I am very clear about what I have to improve. Now I have enough time to prepare, with the new equipment that I have now. I feel like a better player than 1.2 years ago. I feel better physically and mentally". Finally, the hope of the 25-year-old to participate in the next Wimbledon, which last year was denied to Russians and Belarusians: "In a couple of weeks we may know if the Russians will be able to participate in Wimbledon."

Djokovic wants to ride his purple patch

Novak Djokovic is a man on a mission at Melbourne Park this fortnight. "I don't think that I lack determination. I always try to give my best, particularly in Grand Slams, because at this stage of my career those are the tournaments that count the most, of course. You could say that there is something extra this year, yeah. You could say because, yeah, as you mentioned, the injury, what happened last year. I just wanted to really do well. So far I have a perfect score in Australian hard courts, in Adelaide and here. I've been playing better and better. I couldn't ask for a better situation to be in at the moment."

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/nlcdTyX

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