Novak Djokovic displayed sheer dedication on Thursday, getting back from a seemingly insurmountable 5-2 deficit within the first set to finally overcome Quentin Halys in an exhilarating 7-6(3) 7-6(5) victory, thereby propelling himself into the Adelaide International 1 quarterfinals.
Halys, ranked sixty fourth on this planet, has by no means overwhelmed a top-10 opponent however gave Djokovic a giant scare earlier than the previous world No. 1 prevailed in two tiebreakers.
Djokovic, who has now gained 31 consecutive singles matches in Australia, is making ready for the Jan. 16-29 Australian Open, the place he’s searching for a record-extending tenth crown.
The Serb was unable to defend his title final yr after he was deported on the eve of the event for not being vaccinated towards COVID-19.
“It was a great performance from my opponent today. I want to congratulate him for great quality and a great fight. Tough luck but he played like a top 10 player today, no doubt,” Djokovic, now ranked fifth on this planet, mentioned.
“As far as my sport goes, I really feel good on the court docket. I did not have such an incredible begin, I misplaced my serve early. He was serving rather well, quick, huge serves, hitting his spots within the field very effectively.
“Just difficult to play in this kind of court that is really fast. It kind of favors the server. If you’re serving well, it’s tough to break the serve of a big server like him, so two tiebreaks were probably the most realistic score.”
The 35-year-old Serbian will subsequent play Denis Shapovalov, who he has overwhelmed in all seven of their conferences.
“Denis is one of the most complete players out there, he’s got a very dynamic style of tennis, a big serve, comes to the net and (he is) comfortable playing from the back of the court,” Djokovic added.
“He’s a very great athlete, moves fantastically. We haven’t played for a while so I’m looking forward to that. Every match now gets tougher, I’m going to be ready for that.”
