Fresh from his blockbuster defeat of Carlos Alcaraz in the Australian Open quarter-finals, Novak Djokovic has answered those who’ve wondered whether he could match the power of younger stars Alcaraz and world No. 1 Jannik Sinner.

“Many people have doubted [me]… that’s followed me throughout my career. People are constantly trying to invalidate me, to undermine everything I’ve done. That’s simply a part of the career of a professional sportsman who has achieved so much,” he said to Serbian media in the post-match press conference.

Novak Djokovic of Serbia gestures during his quarterfinal match against Carlos Alcaraz.Credit: AP

“But that’s not something that discourages me – on the contrary. That motivates me further to prove to people that I can still win on the biggest stage, the greatest tournaments, the best in the world. I proved that today as well. I’m going further, this is not the end of the tournament, I hope for the best. The semi-final will probably be more difficult against [Alexander] Zverev.”

Djokovic said that to win his 11th Australian Open, he’d have to beat the world’s top three players.

“That’s an additional motivator, but I am looking forward to these kinds of challenges, in a way. I am still a professional tennis player because of these kinds of matches and circumstances,” he said.

Speaking of his injury for which he sought a medical timeout, Djokovic said he tried to stay in the match afterwards and created a break opportunity in the 10th game of the second set before winning the set.

“In that period, the medication, the painkillers started to take effect, and I was moving a lot better in the middle of the third set. I had a lot more self-confidence, confidence in my movement and less pain … although I felt it almost throughout the whole match.”

Novak Djokovic in last night’s match.Credit: Chris Hopkins

Djokovic said he was very proud of himself for being able to claim victory over one of the world’s best players in those circumstances.

“This victory means a lot mentally and emotionally. Mentally and emotionally, I won’t have any problems for the match on Friday, but we’ll see about the physical aspect; just to fix this problem. I am worried, but I have another match-free day, so I will make the most of every hour of the day and night to prepare for that [Friday’s] match.”