… Reporting from Dubai Tennis Centre, Dubai
Record-setting World No. 1 Novak Djokovic had to go into extra gear to defeat Czech Tomas Macac in a three-set thriller and qualifier for the last eight at the Dubai Duty Free Championship.
Djokovic arrived in Dubai following his 10th Australian Open triumph and earlier this week set both a new men’s and women’s record reign of 387 weeks atop of the world rankings.
However he clearly was not expecting the World No. 130 ranked Machac to take it right to the Serbian superstar.
Novak won the first set 6-3 but found himself losing the second by the same score before sealing a 7 & 6 victory in the third, and in a match just three minutes shy of 2hours 30 mins.
What a nail-biter with @DjokerNole having to draw on all his reserves as Tennis World No. 1⃣ to get the 🥇@DDFTennis #DDFTennis @DubaiDutyFree @visitdubai
✅ @TourMiss @DDFTennis https://t.co/3jFuHopuwM
— Golf & Science News (@TOURMISS) February 28, 2023
Djokovic said: “Game-wise I felt okay but fitness-wise I was not at the best that I would normally feel while the execution of my shots could have been better.
“It was a bigger drop in my game than I would have normally and while there were some uncharacteristic shot-making errors, happening in both hands
“I guess that’s part of the process of finding the tempo, finding the balance on the court.
“The good thing I was not thinking about my leg today as that didn’t bother me, at all, so that is great news but an injury is an injury and it does play on your mind a little bit, along with your bio-mechanics and your preparation and the execution of a shot.
“So, I did feel a difference getting to the level I had won in Australia.”
Djokovic will next play Dutchman and World No. 39 Tallon Griekspoor in Friday’s semi-final as he looks to win the Dubai title for a sixth time and then just two shy of Swiss great Roger Federer.
