Novak Djokovic struggles with his body and a fan but advances to Australian Open 4th round

MELBOURNE, Australia — Novak Djokovic sought help from a trainer for shortness of breath and had a back-and-forth with a particularly loud crowd, but when it was time to put the ball in play against Tomas Machak at the Australian Open, things went pretty smoothly. 24-time Grand Slam champion.

Djokovic, the 10-time champion at Melbourne Park, moved into the fourth round with his most confident performance of the week, a 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 win over 26th seed Machak – who actually won their most recent previous encounter, last season.

Asked in an interview after the match how he thought things had gone, Djokovic replied: “Very hot heads at the moment, so I’ll try to give a calm and diplomatic answer to it. I think I played really well. I am very happy with my game. I was surprised, to be honest, with the results.”

It all lasted less than 2 1/2 hours, and Djokovic was broken just once and converted 5 of 15 opportunities on Matchak’s serve. Another barometer of how well it’s gone: Djokovic mustered 28 winners to just 20 unforced errors.

It was his first straight sets win in Melbourne this year, after knocking out 19-year-old Ninesh Basvaredi in the first round and 21-year-old Jaime Faria in the second round. Both of those opponents were making their Grand Slam debuts.

He next faces No. 24 Jiri Leheka, with the winner likely to face No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals.

At the end of the opening game of the second set at Rod Laver Arena, Djokovic looked uncomfortable and clutched the right side of his rib cage. Then, on the last change, he took the unusual step of taking a seat on his sideline bench instead of walking around the net on the opposite baseline.

In the next game, Djokovic missed a drop shot to make it 15-40 and he leaned forward, chest heaving and hands on knees. Matchak converted the first break chance for a 2-0 lead in the set when Djokovic missed a hard volley.

But Djokovic’s nickname, “Knoll!” Pronounced and came straight back. from the stands and standing in his courtside box to applaud his coach Andy Murray.

Djokovic then asked the chair umpire to call a trainer. Djokovic sat down for a changeover and wrapped a white towel around his head, before receiving some medical attention.

“I was trying to catch my breath. I struggled. I’m not 19 anymore — I’m 19 times two, almost,” joked Djokovic, who turns 38 in May.

And although he admitted he “struggled physically” in the middle of the match, in the final set, Djokovic said, he “felt fresh; moved really well.”

Later, he was disturbed by someone shouting from the stands during points. Near the end, Djokovic flexed and screamed after winning a point. When Djokovic finished winning, he pointed to his ear, as if to say, “Well, what do you have to say now?”

When a voice called out during Djokovic’s interview, he responded, “Sorry, mate. I’ve got a wife. We could have a drink though,” then added: “Maybe you’ve had a few already.”

“I’m happy to have a drink with him now that the match is over,” Djokovic said. “I think we can reflect pretty well what we’ve said to each other.”