Novak Djokovic On-Court Interview | Australian Open 2025 Quarterfinal

Novak, we've seen you play so many amazing matches in your long and illustrious career, and this one for me is going to be one that I'll long remember. How in the world did you win this match with all the circumstances tonight against Carlos? Well, with my two legs and two arms, I guess. One and a half legs. But first, I want to say my utmost respect and admiration for Carlos and everything he stands for and what he has achieved so far in his young career. What a terrific guy he is and an even better competitor, youngest ever, number one in the world in the history of our sport. So four Grand Slams, and I'm sure that we're going to see a lot of him, maybe not as much as I would like, but he's going to be there for sure, longer than me. And I just wish that this match today was the finals, honestly. I don't know if Sasha Zverev is still awake, 1 a.m., if he's watching this, I'm sure his team is. Yeah, just one of the most epic matches I've played on this court, on any court, really. So thank you all for staying at 1 a.m. to watch us and support the players. So the match got underway in a rather normal circumstance. You guys were playing your normal styles, and then you got injured, and you had to take a medical timeout. We saw you come back out with strapping. What were you dealing with? What was the injury issue? Well, since I'm still in the tournament, I don't want to reveal too much, obviously. But yeah, the medication started to kick in, and they helped, no doubt. I had to take another dose. I mean, this sounds awful, me taking another dose, but I had to, you know. I didn't know, to be honest. If I lost that second set, I don't know if I would continue playing, but I felt better and better, managed to play a great couple of games to end up the second set. And then I saw that Carlos was hesitant a little bit from back of the court, and I took my chances and started to feel better, started to move better. So it didn't bother me, it didn't create any hindrance towards the end of the match, only in that second set. Obviously, when the medications start to release, I'll see what the reality is, you know, tomorrow morning. But yeah, you know, right now, I will just try to be in the moment and enjoy this victory. As you should. Some of this match and the changes that you made with your game, how much more aggressive you got reminded us of what you did here two years ago, when you suffered a leg injury in the middle of the tournament, and then you got very aggressive with your forehand and you went on to win the tournament. Did that experience help you make those decisions tonight? Or was this completely different? Sorry, I heard your question, but I'm just I'm surprised that my kids are still here. I mean, I mean, I love you, thank you for supporting me, but it's 1 a.m. When are you going to sleep tonight? They don't want me to speak about them. Yeah. Okay. Back to tennis. Yeah. Back in 2023, I think, yeah, I actually had a similar injury and carried it basically from the beginning of the tournament and just had to had to go for for my shots more. Honestly, sometimes it helps. I mean, it definitely helped in the second and third set. You know, there's we are so nervous on the court. You know, there's a lot happening. You're going through emotional turmoil up and down. You know, any point can really shift the momentum to the other side, particularly when you play on such a high level against the champion like Carlos. So he brings the intensity, incredible energy and competitive spirit to the court. So, you know, you've got to come out and be at your best. So I knew that it was unfortunate what happened towards the end of the set for me. But in that perspective, the way you explain it, I think comparing to the 2023 performances I had, I think it does help mentally because, you know, you just all of a sudden start to play a bit more aggressive. You go through your shots more. So I guess that's going to be necessary for me, I guess, in a couple of days time when I face Zverev in the semis. And that's one advantage if there is in playing today. It's Tuesday. The semifinals isn't until Friday for you. So you do get that extra day off. So that's beneficial. But you'll need it against Sascha. He's a great player, too. You guys have played a lot of times. What will be the keys in that match for you as you look forward to the semifinals? Besides waking up pain-free tomorrow, hopefully. A little correction, Jim. Today's Wednesday already. That's true. God knows when we're going to go to sleep. I guess the key is recovery for me now. To be honest, that's all I'm thinking about. The extra day with no match comes at the perfect time for me. Let's see if it's going to be good enough on Friday. Hopefully I can come out and feel my best because Sascha is playing some of the best tennis he has played. And yeah, we have an agreement that as long as I play, he's going to let me win Grand Slam matches. Well, it's all settled then. Congratulations on your run to the finals now. Novak, incredible once again.