Novak Djokovic admitted he ‘was not proud’ of his racket smash in the Australian Open quarterfinal, but he believes it helped him win the match.
Djokovic was 1-3 down in the crucial third set of his match against Alexander Zverev, and when he missed a return on deuce his frustrations got the best of him and his racquet paid the price.
However, after that he was able to turn the match round before winning it in four sets, so he understandably doesn’t regret it.
“It was a relief, but I wouldn’t recommend it,” Djokovic said about the racket smash.
“Of course, I am not proud of that, but you go through a lot of different emotions, inside battles.
“To me, it happens and today it helped me. It was an accumulation of a lot of things.
“I regained my concentration after I broke my racket . Things started to change a bit for me.”
RACQUET SMASH! 💥
Djokovic UNLEASHES on his racquet after returning a Zverev serve straight into the net! 😬
WATCH: @Channel9
STREAM: https://t.co/TYsz5RZN3Z#9WWOS #AusOpen #AO2021 pic.twitter.com/yNhMz5GdMP— Wide World of Sports (@wwos) February 16, 2021
Djokovic will face world number 114 Aslan Karatsev in the semi-finals, and he believes it will be a challenge.
“To be honest, I had not seen Karatsev play before this Australian Open.
“Physically, he is very strong. He moves well. He has a lot of power from the back of the court.
“He has a great backhand, he is from the Russian school tennis. They always have good backhand shots.
“He serves well and is motivated. He has nothing to lose.”
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