Novak Djokovic won the fourth round of the Australian Open against Milos Raonic. As a result, he becomes the second man in history to reach 300 Grand slam wins with a 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 victory and marked his position after Roger Federer.
Playing through pain
Still suffering from an abdominal muscle injury he fetched during his third round while beating Taylor Fritz on Friday, it is only because of his physiotherapist, ATP, and the grand importance of the Australian Open that he got the courage to be out there on the court.
While the sheer endurance lessened the excruciating pain, nevertheless, facing the opponent and playing the game at a national level, without practice is nothing less than stepping into the quicksand.
As the match started, Djokovic’s grit determination and overwhelming performance indicated his strong mental abilities as he took control over the match.
Novak Djokovic reached 300 career grand slams wins.
For Novak, what matters the most is winning. After winning his last match, now he has 40 hours before the next match where he can take some rest for his injury to heal.
Since his medication comprises mainly of painkillers, his pain lessens to some extent. The pain is subsided away. And right now for him, the most important thing is to play come may whatever.
In 14 years, it is the 12th time that Novak has reached the Australian Open quarterfinals. Not only that, he is now up for the next match against the eight-time champion of Germany’s Alex Zverev.
Novak Djokovic in Australian Open 2021.
Being a winner
Novak Djokovic remains unbeaten in six matches in this tournament, but now he is up against Alexander Zverev. He leads Alexander 5-2 in their ATP series, which includes 6-7(3), 6-2, 7-5 victory. But Dominic Thiem was a surprise loser this Friday, as he lost in straight sets to Grigor Dimitrov.
