Melbourne: Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic on Monday expressed his desire to win more Grand Slam titles. However, Djokovic's quest for the all-time record will have to wait as he suffered an injury in Melbourne.
The 33-year-old extended his own record with an emphatic 7-5, 6-2, 6-2 victory over Daniil Medvedev at Rod Laver Arena on Sunday, despite carrying the injury suffered in the third round of the tournament.
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And when Djokovic was asked if he can win more Grand Slam titles, the World Number one said, "I feel age is just the numbers, so I don't feel tired, I don't feel exhausted from playing tennis, competing at the highest level. I know also that realistically things are not the same as they were 10 years ago in terms of energy and biology and everything. But I feel like I still have a lot of gas in me and I will. But I will have to be wiser and smarter with my scheduling in order to save and use and direct the energy into the tournaments that matter them. I'm also, you know, hopefully, I'll be able to win more majors. I mean, that's something that I'll definitely look forward to as a priority."
Parading his trophy on the beach in the Melbourne suburb of Brighton on Monday, Djokovic said the second scan of his abdomen had revealed he had made the injury worse by playing on.
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"I just came actually came from another MRI that I've done this morning and the damage is bigger than what it was when it happened when I did the first MRI after the third round. It's not too bad judging by what the doctor said but I'll have to take some time off and heal. The tear is bigger," the Serbian star added.
Djokovic also said he was hurt by criticism after he complained about quarantine conditions after arriving in Australia.
"You know, there are people there will always doubt you, and that's fine. They will always question anything I say or anything I do, and that's fine. I just accept the fact that I can't please everyone or be someone's favourite tennis player and someone will always look for negatives in anything I do or say. And that's OK. I just.. it does frustrate me. Of course. Of course, it does. I mean, I have feelings like anybody else and I'm you know, I don't enjoy when someone, you know, judges or criticises and, you know, behaves unfairly, I think, you know, before checking certain things and going out in public like that. But at the same time, I accept the fact that everyone is entitled to their own opinion."
