Australian Open: Novak Djokovic admits risk of further injury before match with Alexander Zverev
World number one Novak Djokovic admits he is risking further injury by continuing to play in the Australian Open.
World number one Novak Djokovic admits he is risking further injury by continuing to play in the Australian Open.
Britain’s Alfie Hewett will contest both the wheelchair singles and doubles finals at the Australian Open.
Serena Williams does not need the validation of a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam title, says coach Patrick Mouratoglou.
Britain’s Joe Salisbury and American Rajeev Ram remain on course to retain their Australian Open title after moving into the men’s doubles last eight.
Grigor Dimitrov has long enjoyed success at the Australian Open, where he is into the quarter-finals for the fourth time. The 2017 semi-finalist will try to return to the last four again when he faces Russian qualifier Aslan Karatsev on Tuesday.
The Bulgarian recently started working with a new coach, Dante Bottini, the former longtime mentor of Kei Nishikori. ATPTour.com caught up with Bottini about their quick start, what it has been like getting to know Dimitrov and how he coached the 2017 Nitto ATP Finals champion from hard quarantine.
Grigor said he called you late last year when he heard you were free and he got the sense that you hit it off right away, and not just on the court. Did you realise that, too?
I saw that right away. He called me in November and said he wanted to meet with me. I spent three full days with him in Monaco. We talked a lot about life, about tennis, about how I see tennis and his tennis. We hit it off really, really well from the beginning. He was happy and then he called after a few days and said he would like to start training with me. That was a good meeting.
Because you’ve been on Tour for so long and Kei played Grigor so many times, did you have an idea right away of what you wanted to do with Grigor’s game?
For sure. Kei played so many times against him and we practised also during all these years. They played doubles together, so I knew very well how Grigor plays. I never saw him in detail in practice that much. I knew his potential, but to tell you the truth he surprised me that it’s even better. He’s unbelievably talented. The things that he can do on the court are unbelievable. I have in mind things I want him to get better with and things I want to work with him on. We’ve shared information with each other and we’ve been doing well so far.
When you speak about how talented Grigor is, what’s something you see from him in practice that shows that?
He makes things that are difficult very easy. It is the shots that he makes and how easy he can process when he does something wrong and how easily he can fix it. I’m not saying it’s just the amazing shots he hits, but how easy he processes the mistakes that he makes to get better. If I ask him to do something, he does it right away instead of practising it for a few days or even weeks before he gets it.
You spent many years working with Kei. How different does it feel coaching a different player?
Every player is different. I worked with Kei for so long that you get used to the player a little bit. But I’ve also trained so many other people in my life and I know that everybody is different. You have to adjust. That’s the way that I coach. It’s not my way or the highway. I always try to see the player I have in front of me and you adjust your work and how the person is. So far it’s been working really well.
Grigor is 29 and you might think as he gets older it would be harder to make changes. But how do you think he is able to pick up changes quickly?
When you get older, it’s tougher to accept that, too. But everybody, including the top players, go through changes. Tennis is changing. It’s an evolution. So you have to adapt and change a few things. I’m not saying that he’s changing drastically, but just a few things and obviously he’s willing to do that.
Is there anything you’d be willing to share that you believe Grigor can improve?
I think the most important [element] for Grigor is to stay mentally focused and to stay in the point longer. He needs to trust his physical conditioning — which is great — his speed, his ability to move. We all know that he has all the shots. For me, it’s very important for him to stay calm and realise that he has all the weapons to play. He doesn’t need to rush.
One of the things that Grigor takes pride in is his kindness and simply being a good person. How nice is that for you?
Super nice. I knew that he was a nice person, but I never knew him deeply like I have in these few months. He’s a super nice person, he cares about others and I like that about him. I think we both are pretty much the same in that sense. We get along good, we get along very well. He likes to talk a lot, he likes to ask the questions probably more than me. We’ve been having nice conversations… going for walks and talking about not only tennis, but about life. I think that’s important for him, it’s important for me, too.
You flew to Melbourne from Los Angeles and were mandated to do hard quarantine, but Grigor was on a different flight and was able to train. How tough was it to try to help Grigor while you were in the hotel?
I was in contact with him every day and I was telling him things that I wanted him to do and to practise and to keep going with the preseason we did in Monaco. I was talking to him and he was giving me his feedback and I was telling him whatever I could. I also was in contact with David Goffin’s coach, who was running the practices. I was telling him things I would like to do in practice and he helped me out, feeding Grigor some balls. I have to thank Germain Gigounon, Goffin’s coach, for that.
Did they take any videos for you to see what was going on?
Yes, I was asking Grigor to send me some videos from practice. They were not too long, but at least I could see him!
Sometimes it takes time for a player and coach to get used to working with each other. But right away Grigor is into a Grand Slam quarter-final. How do you, as a coach, decide how much advice you give him in such a big moment?
I’m the same as the first tournament that we played here and the first few rounds of the Australian Open. I’m not changing anything because it’s the quarter-finals or Round of 16 or first round. I don’t care. We just have to keep doing the same things we’ve been doing, same routine, keep playing the same way and then go day by day, match by match. I’m keeping things simple and exactly the same as we have been doing.
Grigor will be the favourite in the quarter-finals against Aslan Karatsev, who is competing in his first Grand Slam main draw. How do you keep Grigor focused on the task at hand, rather than thinking about how his opponent hasn’t been in this situation and is No. 114?
It’s the same, Grigor knows if the guy is in the quarter-finals it’s for a reason. Obviously the guy is playing very good tennis, he’s very dangerous. Grigor has to focus on his game. We just practise, work on some shots I think will be good for Grigor in the match and that’s it. It doesn’t matter who is in front of him. He just has to focus on his game.
Did you guys speak about goals moving forward?
Of course. Not really specific things. We didn’t set a specific goal before this season, I want to actually talk about that more deeply after this tournament. But of course we spoke a little bit about how I see him playing and where I think he belongs. He wanted to hear that from me, too. I’m very ambitious in that sense and he is too, he’s very eager. Hopefully we can reach the max.
If you want to see Grigor do one thing the rest of the tournament, what would it be?
Keep the same consistency and the same mentality he has been having. He has been very composed, very positive the whole tournament and he has been very relaxed mentally. That’s what I’m expecting from him and I would like to see.
Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares needed three sets to book their place in the Australian Open quarter-finals on Monday, as they rallied from a set down to defeat Simone Bolelli and Maximo Gonzalez 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-4.
The British-Brazilian tandem converted all three break points it created to keep its hopes of a second Australian Open crown alive. Murray and Soares own two Grand Slam titles as a team, following 2016 title runs at the Australian Open and US Open.
Murray and Soares improved to 7-0 this year with their two-hour, 31-minute victory against Bolelli and Gonzalez. The 11-time tour-level team titlists played their first event since 2019 Roland Garros at last week’s Great Ocean Road Open, which they won with a 6-3, 7-6(7) final victory against Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah. Murray and Soares will face Marcelo Arevalo and Matwe Middelkoop for a place in the semi-finals.
Defending champions Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury continued their pursuit of a second straight trophy at Melbourne Park. The fifth seeds overcame John Peers and Michael Venus 7-6(4), 7-6(4). Ram and Salisbury will meet unseeded duo Marcus Daniell and Philipp Oswald in the quarter-finals.
Ivan Dodig and Filip Polasek eliminated seventh seeds Marcelo Melo and Horia Tecau 6-4, 6-3 in one hour and 26 minutes. The ninth seeds won 81 per cent of their first-serve points (30/37) to record their eighth win in 10 matches this year. Prior to the Australian Open, Dodig and Polasek advanced to the Antalya Open final (l. to Mektic/Pavic) and the Great Ocean Road Open semi-finals (l. to Murray/Soares).
Dodig and Polasek will meet Aussie wild cards Matthew Ebden and John-Patrick Smith in the quarter-finals. Ebden and Smith ripped 28 winners and did not face a break point en route to a 7-6(2), 6-4 victory against fourth seeds Wesley Koolhof and Lukasz Kubot.
Fourth seed Daniil Medvedev cruises into the Australian Open quarter-finals with a straight-set victory over Mackenzie McDonald.
Fourth seed Daniil Medvedev booked his spot into the Australian Open quarter-finals for the first time after a commanding 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 victory over Mackenzie McDonald on Monday.
After edging through in a marathon five-setter against Filip Krajinovic in the third round, Medvedev’s road to the quarter-finals was much more straightforward. The reigning Nitto ATP Finals champion fired 29 winners past the 25-year-old American across an hour and 29 minutes to advance inside Margaret Court Arena.
The victory also keeps Medvedev on track for a blockbuster quarter-final collision against countryman Andrey Rublev, the No. 7 seed, who takes on Casper Ruud in the fourth round. Should Rublev advance, Medvedev will look to extend his 3-0 ATP Head2Head lead against his countryman. Both players are on an undefeated streak to start the season after steering Russia to a dominant ATP Cup title run.
“It’s an exciting moment [to be] in [the] quarter-finals in Australia for the first time, that’s a great achievement for me,” Medvedev said in his post-match interview. “I want more all the time, but step by step. So this is amazing.
“Of course I’m going to be [cheering] for Andrey, because if he goes through it’s going to be at least one Russian in the semis, maybe two with Aslan [Karatsev] in the other half of the draw.”
Medvedev took early command of a first set that ended up being more complicated than he would have liked. The Russian opened a 4-1 lead with a double break, playing patient tennis and taking control with his big first serve.
But McDonald gave him plenty of trouble as he tried to serve out the first set. The American pulled Medvedev up to the net and forced errors out of the Russian’s racquet to save set point and break at 5-3. But despite the pushback, Medvedev was still a break in front, and the Russian didn’t panic as he served it out on his second try.
Medvedev struck only eight unforced errors across the opening two sets (15 in the match) as he dominated from the baseline against McDonald. Medvedev won five games in a row to take the second set with a double break. But 25-year-old McDonald was determined to make Medvedev earn every game, and the pair settled into a tense battle. The Russian broke through late in the set to seal his 18th consecutive victory.
“When you play Mackenzie, many times he’s going to be in control of the games and you just need to defend,” Medvedev said. “I knew that I needed to play a lot of low balls, because he plays really flat and aggressive. If you give him high balls, he’s going to try to destroy them. That’s what he did in a few moments.
“I was just trying to stay as much as possible in the points… and I managed to take all my chances today.”
With the victory, Medvedev moved into his third Grand Slam quarter-final, and his first away from the US Open. He is looking to become Russia’s first male Grand Slam champion since Marat Safin won the Australian Open in 2005.
Andy Murray is well beaten by Ukraine’s Illya Marchenko in the final of the ATP Challenger event in Biella, Italy.
World No. 1 Novak Djokovic says that his abdominal pain was bearable in his fourth-round victory over Milos Raonic on Sunday, but competing at the Australian Open “was kind of a gamble”.
The eight-time champion, who suffered the injury in his five-sets victory over Taylor Fritz on Friday, underwent an MRI scan in Melbourne and did not practise ahead of his clash against Raonic on Rod Laver Arena.
“It’s kind of a gamble,” said Djokovic, who had his abdominal muscles taped up against Raonic. “That’s what [the] medical team told me. It’s really unpredictable… It could cause much more damage than it is at the moment, but it also could go in a good direction. So that’s something that I don’t know, and I don’t think I will also know until I stop taking painkillers.
“As long as I’m with high dose of painkillers, I guess, still [I] can bear some of the pain. But the tricky thing with the painkillers is that they kind of hide what’s really happening in there, so you might not feel it, but then the big damage might be done.”
Djokovic, who will next play sixth seed Alexander Zverev at the Australian Open so soon after their epic ATP Cup clash, admitted he took the decision to play Raonic only a few hours before the match began.
“I didn’t know [a] few hours before I stepped on the court tonight whether I was going [to] play or not,” said the 33-year-old. “I didn’t hit a tennis ball yesterday. I tried to use every single hour possible to recover and give myself at least a little bit of chance to step on the court, which I have done.
“But I somehow managed to find a way and win, and that’s what matters the most. Now I’ve got another 40 hours or something like that until the next match, which is great about Grand Slams. You get that day, [a] day-and-a-half in between to really rest. So, most likely, I won’t be training tomorrow and just go back to [my] recovery routine and hope that things will get better.”
Asked about the potential long-term effects of the injury, Djokovic added, “I have talked a lot with my own medical team and also the medical team of Tennis Australia — the Australian Open. They all share opinion that there is a slight, very slight, slim chance that I will make significant damage that would take me out of the Tour for [an] extended period of time.
“There is always a risk that the injury will get worse, but they don’t think it’s going to be very significantly worse that it’s going to jeopardise my entire season… I really don’t know exactly how far I’m going to go with this injury or how far I’m going to go in the tournament. There is still potentially three matches to go, and it’s only going to get tougher and tougher for me on the court.”
Djokovic has a 5-2 lead in his FedEx ATP Head2Head series against Zverev, who beat No. 23 seed Dusan Lajovic in straight sets on Sunday.
