"I'm always there, always fighting" - Novak Djokovic takes pride in his fighting spirit following Adelaide International 1 triumph
Novak Djokovic came back from the brink of defeat to beat Sebastian Korda and lift the Adelaide International 1 trophy on Sunday, January 8. He saved a championship point in the second set before emerging victorious 6-7(8), 7-6(3), 6-4 in three hours and nine minutes.
It marks the Serbian's second title in Adelaide, 11th in Australia and 92nd tour-level title. He is now tied with Rafael Nadal for the fourth-most men’s singles titles in the Open Era, trailing only Jimmy Connors (109), Roger Federer (103) and Ivan Lendl (94).
The World No. 5 is in a much better mood right now, compared to the events that unfolded Down Under last year that led to his deportation even before the Australian Open began.
Speaking at the post-match press conference, Djokovic stated that he has worked hard to build a reputation of being a player who would not give up even on the final point.
"Statistically I've been lucky to win more of these kind of matches. Of course, the more you win these particular matches, the better you feel. I think it gets to the head of your opponents more, as well. That's what I want. I want them to know that regardless of the scoreline, I'm always there, I'm always fighting till the last shot, and I'm able to turn things around," Djokovic said.
"Of course, going into the court with anybody knowing that they know as well what I'm capable of is, of course, advantage," he added.
Built. Different. 😮💨
@DjokerNole | #AdelaideTennis https://t.co/G0brT3YuB8
Djokovic has won 34 consecutive matches in Australia since the start of 2019 and 23 of his past 24 matches overall.
When asked if he ever felt invincible during the match against Korda, the 35-year-old denied having any such feelings and stated that no player has ever been invincible in the sport.
"No one is invincible. We've seen the biggest tennis players in the history of the game lose some big matches. I've lost many matches where I was up actually in a match or close matches. Sometimes they go your way, sometimes they don't. Statistically I've won more of those, which I'm obviously very happy about," he said.
"It's hard to say what the formula of success is in these kind of particular circumstances. I feel like each one of us is so different and we are all unique in our own way in terms of the character, in terms of the body, in terms of how we play tennis," he added.
@DjokerNole rules again Down Under 
🇷🇸 @DjokerNole rules again Down Under 🏆
Proud owner of 92 @atptour singles titles and a 34-match winning streak in Australia.
Up next, the pursuit of a 10th #AusOpen crown. https://t.co/9SayTk81t7
"We have to see now, the week is long" - Novak Djokovic refuses to confirm participation in practice match before 2023 Australian Open
A few days ago, Novak Djokovic revealed that he was in talks with Nick Kyrgios about playing a practice match before the 2023 Australian Open. There has also been some talk of a similar arrangement with Daniil Medvedev, the player he defeated in the Adelaide semifinals on Saturday, January 7.
Asked to elaborate on his schedule heading into the 2023 Australian Open, the 21-time Grand Slam champion refused to confirm anything and stated that he will need to recover first before deciding on practice matches.
"We have to see now. The week is long. Thankfully I'll have some time to recover. It's been a long, I would say five weeks for me or more with pre-season, coming into Australia. I've been here almost two weeks in Adelaide training really hard, having a lot of match play time on the court that I spent," he said.
"I'm pleased with the way I am playing, way I'm feeling," he added. "Now it's really fine-tuning, just adapting to the conditions. They're slightly different in Melbourne. Just taking it easy because I've had a lot of intensity this week. If I get to play practice matches with the guys that you mentioned, it would be great. But we have to see how we organize the whole week."