Injury is (not) a problem - Djokovic on a rollercoaster of pain

Injury is (not) a problem - Djokovic on a rollercoaster of pain

Djokovic convincingly outlasted Grigor Dimitrov 3-0 (7:6, 6:3, 6:4) in sets and showed that he is stronger than both the injury and the opponent, and this is his 24th consecutive victory in this tournament.

"I think the turning point, so to speak for both players, was right from the blocks, the very first game," Djokovic said in on court post-match interview.

"An early break was important for me. I didn't know how I was going to feel physically. I was kind of going up and down. Up to the very last shot I didn't know whether I was going to prevail," he added. "It was an incredible battle, three sets, over three hours. Let's rest up and prepare for the next one."

Djokovic plays the last remaining Australian in singles, Alex de Minaur, in the fourth round, and it's going to be their first head-to-head meeting.

Djokovic about the opponent

"Alex de Minaur is one of the quickest players on the tour, probably the quickest guy," said Djokovic. "He has improved a lot. He has Lleyton in his corner. That's a great team".

"So playing in front of you guys, I don't know how many of you will be on my side. I don't think too many but let's see obviously," he laughed. "It's going to be a great atmosphere, I'm sure." Together with the two of them, the other tennis players from Novak's part of the draw are making their way to the finals.

The derby will be played by Holger Rune and Andrei Rublev in the next round, while all the way down are the Americans – JJ Wolf, Ben Shelton, Tommy Paul, and the Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut.

During his long career, Novak had diverse draws, this year's in Melbourne is really good.

It would be a real shame if an injury prevented him from going for the tenth Norman Brookes Trophy.

If Novak hadn't faced the left hamstring injury, which is worrying him continuously, the victory would hardly have been questioned.

"There's two choices – leave it or keep going," Djokovic said. "So, I'm going to keep going. I'm going to try to play and compete".