Australian Open: At Melbourne Park, Novak Djokovic acknowledged that his struggles in Australia had given him more motivation to win his tenth championship.
A 6-1 6-2 6-4 victory over fifth seed Andrey Rublev on Rod Laver Arena by the Serbian, who was once again in outstanding form, set up a semifinal matchup with unseeded American Tommy Paul.
After last year’s vaccination controversy and expulsion, Djokovic, who has never lost at the Australian Open once he has advanced to the final four, is attempting to make up for lost time this year while also dealing with a left hamstring issue.
Djokovic, who tied the record of his former coach Andre Agassi with a 26th straight victory in Melbourne, stated, “I don’t think that I lack determination.”
“At this point in my career, Grand Slams are obviously the tournaments that matter the most, so I always try to give my best effort there.
“However, you may claim that this year has something additional. You might argue that I really wanted to truly do well due of the injuries and what occurred last year.
“So far, in Adelaide and here on Australian hard courts, I have a flawless record. My game has gotten better and better. Right now, I couldn’t ask for a better circumstance.”
Longest men’s singles winning streaks at the #AusOpen (Open Era)
26 – @AndreAgassi
26 – @DjokerNole #AO2023 pic.twitter.com/KTCdXnmoyV— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 25, 2023
The fifth seed made occasional indications that his hamstring was bothering him once more, but this did not interfere with his ability to race over the court and block every hard-hitting Russian Rublev shot.
During the first set, a heckler yelled, “Come on Andrey, send him home,” bringing loud jeers from the predominantly Djokovic-supportive crowd and causing the Serbian to complain to British umpire James Keothavong. This had a greater impact on him.
Djokovic has been the target of fan chants three times during this event, and he stated: “If it keeps happening, it keeps happening. I can’t really do much about it. Quite a few people. Because of the small number of people, I cannot evaluate the entire group.
“I react if someone crosses the line and begins saying things that have nothing to do with encouraging the other player and are instead intended to provoke and insult. Perhaps not the first time, perhaps not the second time, but after that, yeah, I do then ask the chair umpire to respond.
“I then heard him, but he was speaking in favour of Rublev. I didn’t have any issues because he didn’t say anything terrible till the finish of the game.”
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