Novak Djokovic makes shock claim after his latest Aus Open win

Novak Djokovic might be the most competitive person on the planet, so his post-match comment caught many off guard.

Novak Djokovic had few troubles in the fourth round, despite feeling unwell. Photos: AFP and Getty Images

Few could argue that Novak Djokovic would sit comfortably among the most competitive humans on planet Earth.

The Serbian, who turns 37 in May, still maintains a relentless desire to win grand slams and extend his record tally of 24 major titles.

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So a comment he made after his one-sided victory over Frenchman Adrian Mannarino on Sunday was a little hard to swallow.

Djokovic, who has been carrying a mystery illness throughout the tournament, started his fourth-round match like he had an appointment to keep.

That may well have been the case after he was handed a highly rare daytime slot as he chases an 11th Australian Open title, giving him the night off.

In the blink of an eye, Djokovic held a 6-0 6-0 lead against a demoralised opponent coming off three straight five-set marathons.

Djokovic is a man of unbridled competitiveness. (Photo by Martin KEEP / AFP)

But this is where it gets hard to take Djokovic at face value.

Surely the man who holds a vast number of records in tennis history would be eyeing off the ultra rare “triple bagel”, preventing Mannarino from winning a single game over three sets?

It’s a feat that has reportedly only happened five times in history.

Instead, Djokovic said this.

“The first two sets were some of the best sets I’ve played in a while,” he told Jim Courier courtside.

“I really wanted to lose that game in the third set, the tension was building up so much in the stadium.

“I needed to get that out of the way to refocus on what I needed to do to close out the match.”

Wait, what?

Adrian Mannarino had no answers to the Serbian’s display. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

Djokovic wanted to lose a game?

It’s hard to believe, right?

Either way, he eventually lost three in total to march to victory in just 1 hour and 44 minutes.

Djokovic also had a cheeky response to Courier when asked about that daytime schedule, with Aussie Alex de Minaur instead chosen to fill the coveted 7pm timeslot on Sunday.

“The way I played today, I don’t mind playing in the day, to be honest,” Djokovic said.

“Thank you, thank you guys for showing up also.

“I know it’s early in the day, but it’s Sunday, non-working day, thank you for showing up.

“It’s no secret I love to play at 7pm, but it wasn’t bad at all today. Not too bad.”

Novak Djokovic seemed to enjoy his post-match chat with Jim Courier. (Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images)

As for that illness, it still appeared to be bothering him during Sunday’s match.

Djokovic, who was asked in a press conference on Friday if he’d had a covid test and was also sledged about vaccinations in his third round match, has only called it “a regular viral infection”.

But if you listened to Courier in commentary, the Serbian was about to be administered the last rites.

“He is without question physically wounded at the moment,” Courier said alarmingly.

“He is sick. He told us he was sick five days before the tournament. Would have thought by now he would have healed up.

9 straight games against Mannarino for Djokovic. Even with him not being at his best due to illness. The guy is an alien.

— mills (@millllllyyyyyy) January 21, 2024

Adrian Mannarino laughing hysterically after being down 6-0, 6-0 to Novak Djokovic.

He puts up two 0’s around his eyes 😂

Sometimes all you can do is laugh. pic.twitter.com/Z0piuINNeJ

— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) January 21, 2024

“Something is still not right inside his body because his energy levels are not what we are used to seeing.”

After the match, the man himself hardly seemed worried about proceedings as he marched into a record-equalling 58th major quarter-final, joining Roger Federer on that number.

“You always want to be efficient, finish the job as soon as possible in straight sets,” Djokovic said.

“It’s not always possible, as the tournament progresses you’re playing tougher opponents.

“I wasn’t thinking about it, I was going with the flow and it’s going in a positive direction, health-wise and tennis-wise.”

That is something we can all agree on.