Djokovic keen to focus on majors in record bid
NOVAK Djokovic will adjust his schedule as he looks to overhaul Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
The Serb maintained his position as the king of Melbourne with a ninth Australian Open title, courtesy of a 7-5, 6-2, 6-2 victory over Daniil Medvedev in Sunday’s final.
It was the 33-year-old’s 18th grand slam singles title, leaving him two behind the men’s record held jointly by Federer and Nadal.
“I’ve said it before, obviously majors, especially at this stage of my career, are the most important events,” he told reporters in Melbourne. “I feel age is just a number. I don’t feel tired or exhausted from playing tennis or from competing at the highest level.
“I know also 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. I will have to be wiser and smarter with my scheduling in order to save and direct the energy into the tournaments that matter the most, and hopefully I’ll be able to win more majors. That’s something I’ll definitely look forward to as a priority.”
It is unclear when Djokovic will return to action. He revealed he had a second MRI scan yesterday on his abdominal tear, which had grown from 1.7cm when he first sustained it to 2.5cm.
“The damage is bigger than when I did it after the third round,” he said. “It’s not too bad judging by what the doctor said but I’ll have to take some time off for it to heal properly.”
The Australian Open was successfully staged during the coronavirus pandemic. Tournament director Craig Tiley believes he has unearthed a blueprint that other bodies can follow to organise major sports events.
“This was the first time since the start of the pandemic that there was a sport and entertainment event that had crowds and had every top player bar a few that couldn’t make it,” Tiley said. “I think it is a blueprint that works.”
RIO Olympic bronze medallist Sally Conway has admitted she walks away from judo with no regrets after stunning the sport by retiring – barely five months before the Tokyo Games.
The 34-year-old from Edinburgh had been tipped to hunt a 70kg podium spot once again this summer after earning bronze at the 2019 world championships following gold at the Paris Grand Slam the previous spring.
But Conway, whose trophy haul also included bronze for Scotland at the 2014 Commonwealths in Glasgow, revealed that she arrived at an emotional decision when it felt like the re-arranged Olympics in Japan would arrive 12 months too late.
“The last time I was even on a mat training was December. But I just felt that I’d lost that desire to train and compete and I knew if that went, it was time to retire.
“If the Olympics had gone ahead last summer, I’d have been there, 100 per cent. My last competition was in Paris 12 months ago and I felt great, I was in a good place in the rankings and everything was set. My first major medal was in Rio at the age of 29, and since then, everything had gone so well.
“But I had a spell during lockdown where I couldn’t train properly in Edinburgh and it did make me think more about whether I wanted to still go to Tokyo. It would have been really tempting. But I’m quite content with looking to do something else with my life
I always try to better myself and be the best that I can be. These results never just happen
now, whether it’s coaching or helping others out.”
Conway’s heroics in Rio came against the odds after a steady climb up the rankings that peaked with a stunning Olympic run when she knocked off Austria’s Bernadette Graf to land a spot on the podium and a place in the history books. And she said: “That is something that is testament to my career: I have never given up. I always try to better myself and be the best that I can be. These results never just happen. There has been a lot of hard work behind the
scenes that has gone into achieving these performances.
“What made me so successful was having to deal with those losses earlier in my career. I have learnt so much from the low times that I was able to achieve the great performances later on. And it made those successes all the sweeter knowing the journey I have been on.”
Nigel Donohue, British
Judo’s performance director, added: “In the last five years, Sally has dominated the
70kg weight category and achieved the Grand Slam of winning a European, World and Olympic medal, plus a Paris Grand Slam gold and a Commonwealth Games bronze. This is no mean feat, as the last GB athlete to achieve such a set of results was Kate Howey, over 20 years ago.
“Sally is a fantastic role model for her team-mates and all up and coming young athletes who have had the pleasure to train with her or share the same training mat as her. She is an extremely hard-working, dedicated and professional athlete who gives her best every day.”