Novak Djokovic beat Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets -- 7-6(9-7) 6-3 6-4 -- to move in the last 16 of the Australian Open despite a labored performance from ...
But Djokovic pulled up feeling his hamstring later in the first set and was forced to take a medical timeout after winning a grueling tie break. 5 who was visibly struggling to move at points during the match. After some treatment, Djokovic returned a new man and took advantage of Dimitrov’s loose play to take the second set comfortably.
Novak Djokovic continued his charge towards a 10th Australian Open title with a superb victory over Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov to reach the fourth round on ...
"Ultimately he's one of the best players in the world, and I'm just going to have to take it to him and not shy away from the occasion. I don't know what awaits, but I do hope and I have faith for the best." I'm just very grateful that I'm actually able to play. Djokovic said: "It kind of always starts well and then some movement happens and then it gets worse. Having beaten Dimitrov nine times in their previous 10 meetings probably helped. It's kind of circumstances that you have to accept.
Novak Djokovic has added his voice to the long list of current and former players asking for the late nights at Grand Slams to become a thing of the past.
[Australian Open](https://www.tennis365.com/category/australian-open/) [News](https://www.tennis365.com/category/news/) I’m just very grateful that I’m actually able to play. [Live Tennis](https://www.tennis365.com/category/live-tennis/) That works for a little bit, then it doesn’t, then works again. [Tennis News](https://www.tennis365.com/category/tennis-news/) For us, it’s really grueling. The way it looked just before the tournament started, I thought that it wouldn’t be possible. “I would agree with his points. That’s the ultimate decision maker. “I think for us players… It’s kind of a circumstances that you have to accept.
Novak Djokovic beat Grigor Dimitrov 7-6 (7), 6-3, 6-4 despite his hamstring injury and will now face the home favourite Alex de Minaur.
“He has improved a lot, has Lleyton [Hewitt] in his corner – that’s a great team.” “De Minaur is one of the quickest players on the tour, the quickest guy,” he said. How to turn a precarious contest into a regulation win, with one heavily taped leg buckling beneath him, as if it is just the normal thing to do? A minute or so before Djokovic was feeling grateful, he and Dimitrov played a 31-point rally until the latter overcooked a shot to give the Serb two match points. Loth to miss out, Dimitrov did the same, mimicking his close friend, who was about to beat him. He was still on Rod Laver Arena, having survived the pain of his troublesome hamstring and then thrived despite it to see off Grigor Dimitrov 7-6 (7), 6-3, 6-4.
Novak Djokovic admitted his hamstring issue is a concern following his third-round win against Grigor Dimitrov at the Australian Open.
I don't know what awaits, but I do hope and I have faith for the best.” “I think I started the match really well, feeling good. The first match was good. I just found a way to win in such an exciting match, big battle, over three hours for three sets,” Djokovic said. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings if he wins a record-equalling 22nd Grand Slam title in Melbourne, was pleased with how he battled against the 27th seed. However, question marks remain over the Serbian’s fitness as he once again struggled with a hamstring injury.
Down Under, the big topics up top include Novak Djokovic's hamstring as he tries to find his way to a 22nd Grand Slam title.
This all has lent a different tenor to Week 2 and whether he can surpass de Minaur, then perhaps the scary Rublev (who has lost one set), then what would become a staggering 33rd Grand Slam final berth. Even an impressive win over 28th-ranked Dimitrov “kind of went up and down,” a testament to his customary standard given he has lost only one set. He’s the last of the old guard long resisting (and mauling) this young wave, with Federer retired, When Jelena Ostapenko plays Gauff, that pits a player who won the French at 20 (Ostapenko in 2017) against a player who reached the French final at 18 (Gauff in 2022). To a reporter’s question about how it goes with that pain through a match, Djokovic elaborated. When he emerged in Seoul last September to team with fellow South Korean Soonwoo Kwon in doubles, he said to the ATP Tour, “I’m feeling just so happy to play tennis again.” He remains just 26 years old. It ended with Djokovic raving and Chung saying, “Today my dreams come true,” and noting that he might ask for a photo with Djokovic someday. The bandage drapes the left hamstring, whose infirmity might have made Djokovic’s three-set win over Grigor Dimitrov in Saturday’s third round sort of a surprise. His win over Djokovic went 7-6 (7-4), 7-5, 7-6 (7-3). It’s rich in nationality clusters: three Czechs, two Chinese, two Poles, two Belarusians and two Americans (Gauff and Jessica Pegula). [the final 16](https://ausopen.com/draws) of the Australian Open men’s singles draw could entice a cartoonist. 1 (Karolina Pliskova), a marvel whose teen years won’t end until March 2024 (Coco Gauff) and a player even younger (17-year-old Linda Fruhvirtova).