Novak Djokovic had no problems in his debut match at the 2023 Australian Open. The former world number 1 got the better of the Spanish Roberto Carballes Baena on the Rod Laver Arena, flaunting good physical condition awaiting more severe tests.
The Serbian champion is hunting for his tenth seal in Melbourne Park, which would allow him to ‘avenge’ last year’s exclusion and hook his eternal rival Rafael Nadal at 22 Grand Slams. The Spaniard was eliminated in the second round by American McDonald and suffered a hip injury.
Nole will do everything possible to establish himself again ‘Down Under’, where he hasn’t even lost since 2018. The 35-year-old from Belgrade suffered a left hamstring injury during the Adelaide tournament, but seems to be able to handle the situation without too much difficulty.
Novak’s goal is to grow as the rounds go by, and then play all his cards in the second week. At the press conference, Djokovic was asked to express his opinion on the new Dunlop balls. The most attentive will remember that Nadal had been very critical in this regard.
Nole Djokovic on the new balls
Novak Djokovic was asked in his last press conference about an interesting topic that is causing some debate in this 2023 Australian Open: the new Dunlop balls used. The Serbian has no doubts: they are slower than in previous years.
“The balls have changed this year. They are different: the more exchanges and more playing time, the ball gets bigger or hairier, and it is slower. I have seen that Popyrin has been in the game for four hours, that Ruud has played for three and a half hours.
I think we are going to see longer games this year, and one of the main reasons is probably the ball. I don’t think the speed of the court has changed much: the outside courts are quite fast, the stadiums a bit slower, but the ball is slower and that affects the game”.
Novak Djokovic is optimistic about having a successful run at the 2023 Australian Open. “They’re just numbers in the end of the day,” Novak Djokovic said, “I mean, I’ve been in the situations before where I’ve played for some really big historic things, and I’ve been blessed to have more success than failures in those particular situations. I know how to behave; I know how to handle it. Let’s see how far I can go”.
