Australian Open: Djokovic says ‘fire still burning’

Australian Open: Djokovic says ‘fire still burning’

Novak Djokovic said the fire “is still burning” after outclassing Adrian Mannarino to reach the quarter-finals of the Australian Open and stay on track for a record 25th Grand Slam title.

The Serbian on Sunday ran rings around his French opponent on Rod Laver Arena, winning 6-0, 6-0, 6-3 to underline his status as red-hot favourite to lift an 11th title at Melbourne Park.

READ: Djokovic sweeps into Australian Open 2024 quarterfinal

‘Triple bagel’

“I really wanted to lose that game in the third set because the tension was building up so much in the stadium,” he said, referring to the possibility of completing a rare “triple bagel”.

“I just needed to get that out of the way and re-focus.”

The world number one, who said he had “executed perfectly”, is into the last eight of a Grand Slam for the 58th time, equalling Roger Federer’s men’s record as he maintains an iron grip on the game.

He has now won 32 consecutive matches at the tournament, not tasting defeat since he lost to South Korea’s Chung Hyeon in 2018.

The 10-time champion did not compete in 2022 due to his coronavirus vaccination status.

READ: ‘Perfect’ Sabalenka smashes Tsurenko 6-0, 6-0 at Australian Open

Intensity

Djokovic said he thought there would be less stress around practice and matches this season but admitted the intensity was as fierce as ever even though he is now 36.

“You can see it even today,” he said. “I was 6-0, 2-0 up. It was a long game, and I was like going on with discussions, heated discussions, with my box.

“I always look for the best performance from myself so I put a lot of effort every single day into making it happen. When it doesn’t happen, I’m frustrated.

“It’s still there.

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