Novak Djokovic’s performance against Alex de Minaur at the Australian Open surprised even Tim Henman. The former world number 1, struggling with a left hamstring injury, got rid of the home favorite without problems, leaving him the pittance of five games.
Speaking to Eurosport, Henman expressed his opinion on the Serbian: “His performance was a sort of declaration of war, he absolutely wants to win this tournament. He is the big favourite. There were many doubts about the condition of his left leg, but against de Minaur it was impressive.
The Australian fought on every ball, but Novak left him no way out. Alex is one of the quickest players on the tour and usually manages to extend rallies, you have to earn all the points against him. Djokovic’s shots were executed so well that it felt like a training session.” The 35-year-old from Belgrade will face Russian Andrey Rublev for a place in the semifinals.
Henman on Nole Djokovic
Novak Djokovic is an integral part of the ‘Big 3’ trio that has dominated the current generation of men’s tennis. In many ways though, he has surpassed Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal; some argue that he is a greater player than both of them.
In the on-court interview, the fourth seed reflected on his pain and how he has managed to play through it. He stated that he “didn’t feel anything” during his match against De Minaur. “Tonight, it wasn’t obvious that I was dealing with an injury (laughs).
I didn’t feel anything today, so today was great,” Djokovic said. “I thank my medical team, my physio, thank god, and anybody that really helped me. I was feeling very good in the first match, second match not so great. So I know things can change really quickly and I don’t take anything for granted.
I’m really pleased with the way I have played today,” he added. Yesterday Novak Djokovic won his round of 16 match against Alex De Minaur in a coach, outclassed in just over two hours. A practically perfect performance that of the Serbian, who imparted a tough tennis lesson to his rival.
The most important note for the 21-time Grand Slam champion, however, seems to be the almost total disappearance of the problem in his left leg. As Nole himself stated in his post match interview, the pain he had felt in some of the previous matches now seems to have disappeared, even if he prefers not to rejoice prematurely.
