Motivated and wants revenge. Novak Djokovic will face the Australian Open 2023 as the top seed on tracks he knows very well and where he has been proclaimed champion eight times.
The first Grand Slam of the season This is, without a doubt, the Serbian’s favorite tournament, despite the traumatic experience lived last yearwhen he was deported after forging a document in which he tried to prove that he was vaccinated against covid.
“What happened 12 months ago is not easy to swallow. At the same time, I had to move on and that event and those circumstances will not replace what I have experienced in Melbourne and Australia throughout my career.. If I had a grudge, I might not be here today.” explained the Serb in a press conference.
The Balkan aspires to Melbourne, in addition, to add his 22nd Grand Slam title, which will allow him to equal Rafa Nadal as the most successful male tennis player of all time.
“I want to be the greatest player of all time, nothing to hide about it”, he emphatically stated in the press conference before the start of the tournament.
Djokovic, who has already won one title this year, which he achieved a week ago in Adelaide, has managed to regain the affection of an Australian public that has not stopped cheering him on since he landed in the country at the end of December.
However, it’s not all good news for the former world number 1, who in recent days has seen his preparations change. The Serb had to stop a training match against Daniil Medvedev earlier than planned on Wednesday as a precaution, when he re-created some discomfort in the hamstring of his left leg that he started to notice in Adelaide.
The number five in the world ranking won the preparatory match 3-2 when he called the physiotherapist and received treatment on several occasions. After 36 minutes of the session, he chose to retire to avoid greater harm and left his position to Pablo Andújar so that he could continue training with the Russian player.
The Belgrade native admitted he has had to deal with a hamstring in recent days, although he is confident it won’t be a serious problem for the next two weeks.
“Obviously I was a bit cautious. I’m not going to the maximum in training sessions, I’m saving energy for next week. Hopefully this won’t cause me any kind of trouble during the tournament”, confirmed at Media Day the Serbian, who this Sunday decided to postpone his training for his debut on Tuesday (around 11 am Spanish peninsular time) against Roberto Carballés.
The Canarian tennis player is the first stone on a slightly more comfortable path than Rafa Nadal. In the second round they will face the Bolivian Hugo Dellien or the Frenchman from the past Enzo Couacaud.
On a route that does not promise initial problems, an appointment awaits him in the third round, against the experienced Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, who is currently far from the elite, or the Russian Aslan Karatsev, who is also far from being a tennis player who stood in the ‘semis’ of the Australian Open 2021 from the previous stage.
Round of 16 matches will be against his executioner at the Tokyo Games, Pablo Carreño, or Australian Alex de Minaur.
In the quarterfinals, according to the world order, his hypothetical rival is the Russian Andrey Rublev, although the Danish Holger Rune or the Australian Nick Kyrgios are among the candidates to occupy that spot.
The Serbian’s semifinals are against Norwegian Casper Ruud or American Taylor Fritzbefore a hypothetical final with Nadal that could also allow him to regain the ATP ranking number.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Robert Maynard, and I am a passionate journalist with experience in sports writing. For the last few years, I have been writing for Today Times Live. My main focus has been on sports-related stories and features. With my strong background in journalism and extensive knowledge of the industry, I am able to provide readers with well-crafted pieces that are both informative and engaging.
