“Going to try to make it ugly tomorrow!” : Novak Djokovic wary of ‘clean striker’ Sebastian Korda threat ahead of Adelaide showdown

Novak Djokovic eased past third seed, Daniil Medvedev to book a place in the finals of Adelaide International 1. The Serbian claimed a straight sets victory, as he is yet to drop a set yet in the tournament. The top seed will now face the NextGen star, Sebastian Korda in a bid to claim his first silverware of the season.

Sebastian Korda has displayed high-quality tennis throughout the week in Adelaide, and will be raring to go against Novak Djokovic in the finals. The youngster was granted a walkover by Yoshihito Nishioka in the semifinals, as the Japanese had to pull out to due an injury. However, the 22-year-old was already dominating the proceedings, after claiming the first set in the tiebreaker.

Speaking after his victory against Daniil Medvedev in the semifinals, Novak Djokovic remained wary of the threat posed by Sebastian Korda in the finals. The former world number one describes his opponent as one of the cleanest striking players, and lavished praise on Korda’s brand of tennis.

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“The cleanest striking technique that you can see on the tour,” Novak Djokovic on Sebastian Korda

Novak Djokovic stated that he will look to mix things up in the final, which could put Sebastian Korda in an unchartered territory. “The cleanest striking technique that you can see on the tour. He’s so talented…The way he plays, the way he moves on the court, just beautiful-looking tennis. Going to try to make it ugly tomorrow!,” said Djokovic.

Novak Djokovic suffered an injury scare in the semifinals, when he took a medical time-out for an issue relating to his knee. However, the 35-year-old offered some reassuring words, stating that it was nothing too serious.

“Thankfully it was nothing too serious, if it was, I wouldn’t be able to continue. I had a medical time-out, some anti-inflammatories, and just settled in…I just kept the momentum going and didn’t allow him to break my serve,” he said.

Novak Djokovic has his sights on a record 10th Australian Open title later this month. The field boasts of some big names, which includes the defending champion, Rafael Nadal and the runner-up in the previous two editions, Daniil Medvedev.

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