Djoker in swipe at Demon
NOT content with wiping the floor with Alex de Minaur on the court, Novak Djokovic saved a brutal swipe for the Aussie in his post-match press conference.
Djokovic lost just five games in a devastating display to win the fourth-round clash on Rod Laver Arena 6-2 6-1 6-2 in a little over two hours.
With a 10th Melbourne slam title on the line, it is hard to see who can beat the Serb, who set up a last-eight clash with Andrey Rublev.
It was after the match that the salt was rubbed into de Minaur’s wounds.
Asked why he defeated the Aussie
“so convincingly”, Djokovic said: “Because I wanted to.”
The fourth seed said he was determined not to give de Minaur a way into the match and to ensure he was not pushed beyond three sets.
“I cannot say I’m sorry that you haven’t watched the longer match, to be honest. I really wanted to win straight sets,” he said.
“Obviously you never know what is going to happen on the court. Once you’re on the court obviously you’ve got to deal with a lot of things that are on and off the court … I felt maybe he was a bit more nervous towards the end of the second and beginning of the first. I felt like it’s my opportunity to try to capitalise on those chances.”
“Tennis is a very quick, very dynamic sport. Things can change in a matter of moments, matter of points. Kept my focus all the way through. Just played the best match of this year so far,” he said.
But the most brutal swipe came after Djokovic was reminded of de Minaur’s comments about his deportation in 2022.
Twelve months ago, de Minaur said everyone was tired of the “circus” and that Djokovic had “taken a lot of spotlight away from us competi
Those words, it seems were not forgotten by Djokovic, who said he doesn’t “have any relationship” with de Minaur beyond the respect he has for all rivals and colleagues.
“But I don’t have any other relationship,” he said. “I don’t have any communication with him. He showed in 2022 what he thinks about me.”