“Haven’t been playing my best,” A pensive Novak Djokovic assesses his performance at the Australian Open and there’s only upwards to go from here

Novak Djokovic will next face 30th seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry.

“Haven’t been playing my best,” A pensive Novak Djokovic assesses his performance at the Australian Open and there’s only upwards to go from here

Novak Djokovic (Image via NY POst)

Serbian tennis legend and defending champion at the 2024 Australian Open, Novak Djokovic has had to play two tough matches so far. While the 36-year-old is known to dominate his opponents.

Djokovic found it relatively tough to go past his two opponents in the first two rounds of the tournament.

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Novak Djokovic dropped a set against each other the two players and had to work hard to earn a win. While the Serbian won 6-2, 6-7, 6-3, 6-4 against Dino Prizmic in his first-round match, Djokovic took the match against Alexei Popyrin in four sets of 6-3, 4-6, 7-6, 6-3. 

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Both the matches got the best out of Djokovic as he had to spend four hours for a win in the first and over three hours for a win in the second.

Now, after having played two tiring matches, Djokovic has admitted that he has not been playing his best tennis. The Serbian hopes to find his form to go deep into the tournament.

I sincerely hope so [that I get better on the court], that's what it’s going to take for me to go deep in the tournament. I haven't been playing my best, I've been still trying to find a form.
Novak Djokovic said.

Novak Djokovic explains why it is harder to win in early rounds

The 36-year-old also explained why it becomes a tough task to win in the early rounds of a Grand Slam tournament.

While crediting his opponents in the two matches for their efforts, Djokovic said that players do not have much to lose in the early rounds and hence it becomes harder to get a win. 

Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic (Via Business Insider)
Particularly in the early rounds, you play players that have nothing to lose really. They come out on the center court trying to play their best, best match, best tennis. And both my first and second-round opponents were really really great quality tennis players and I managed to find a way to win. Hopefully, I'll be able to build this as the tournament progresses.
Novak Djokovic explained.

Novak Djokovic will next face 30th seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the third round. The ten-time champion has played against the Argentine two times so far in his career, both in 2023.

While they met for the first time at the ATP 1000 Masters in Rome, Djokovic and Etcheverry met at the Paris Masters.

In both the matches, Novak Djokovic registered a win in straight sets. Now, as the two are slated to take on each other in the third round at the Australian Open, Djokovic will be hoping to sail through easily. Meanwhile, Etcheverry would hope to register his maiden win against the 24-time Grand Slam champion.

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