Djokovic: 'That's the very reason why Roger Federer, Nadal and me...'

Mission failed, the new generation was once again rejected. Novak Djokovic unquestionably rejects the Russian Daniil Medvedev and brings successes to 9 in the Australian Open, 18 majors won, 21 straight games won in Melbourne, 82 titles in the ATP circuit on the bulletin board and on March 8th will be 311 weeks from undisputed number 1, beating Roger Federer. These are the numbers of the feat of a star hungry for success like Rafael Nadal still is and, when he returns, Federer. The three titans, with their 58 Grand Slams won, are still certifying the fact that before a real replacement you will have to wait, contrary to logic and to what many would expect. It is true that for champions of this caliber, rationality is not worth so much. Just think of a Nole who arrives at the Melbourne Final with 100 aces to his credit, something that has never been seen before, a sign that the Serb still has a lot of desire to work and room for improvement too. The way in which he dismantled Medvedev technically and mentally was impressive, considering that the Russian came from 20 consecutive successes in individual matches and knew no defeat from the quarter-finals in Vienna in 2020. Today, however, the Balkan showed how he still has there is a certain difference between a champion who plays all points at 100% and who, after the counter-break of the second set, has already given it a bit for loss. After the win, Djokovic claimed that his Big 3 rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal inspire him to keep fighting on even though he's already achieved so much.

Djokovic on Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal

"Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal inspire me. That's something that I've said before, I'll say it again. I think as long as they go, I'll go," Novak Djokovic said. "In a way it's like a race [of] who plays tennis more, I guess, and who wins more. It's a competition between us in all areas. But I think that's the very reason why we are who we are, because we do drive each other, we motivate each other, we push each other to the limit." Novak Djokovic has had a complicated time ever since he arrived in Australia last month. Between his controversial letter to Tennis Australia asking for a relaxation in quarantine rules and his injury scare in the third round (which he later confirmed to be a muscle tear), Djokovic once again made headlines for the wrong reasons. "Even though I have been fortunate to win many Majors and play in many Major finals in my life, I do enjoy the success every single time even more because I know that the longer the time passes, the more difficult it's going to become for me to get my hands on the major trophy," Djokovic said.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3aV8N29