AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 28, 2026

Novak Djokovic

Press Conference

N. DJOKOVIC/L. Musetti

4-6, 3-6, 3-1 [Ret.]

THE MODERATOR: We'll start with questions.

Q. When did you realize that Lorenzo was struggling, or was there a time when you saw he was hampered by his injury?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Honestly, the first time I saw him struggling a bit was in the third game of the third set when I broke his serve. But I have spoken to some of the members of his team that are my former agent, Edoardo, and he told me he complained already at the beginning of the second, but I didn't feel that in the second set it was affecting his game much, but probably gotten worse, and that's what happened.

Q. Just obviously whoever you play in the semifinal, it's going to be very exciting. Just explain for us what it is that makes first Jannik and then Ben so dangerous, and what you need to do from your side of the net to counter those dangers.

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, I've played Ben only once in semis of US Open years ago, so, you know, hopefully if we get a chance to play, we can have a good match.

I mean, if I play Jannik, I lost to him I think four or five in a row, so yeah, he's just playing on such a high level right now, along with Carlos. They're the two best players in the world.

I mean, absolute favorite, but you never know, you know. Hopefully I can deliver my A-game for that matchup, because that's what's going to be needed at least to have a chance. I wasn't playing close to my best today, so I'm going to have to change that around.

Q. You also had a medical timeout today. Can you update us on your physical condition? Also, illustrate just the physical demands on the body playing at this level, because I don't think people at home necessarily appreciate that.

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Yes. Well, I had a blister that needed to be looked at and retaped. That's what I did last match and now. That's the biggest of my concerns, to be honest. I don't have any other major issues.

I mean, you always have some minor issues with your body, at least for me every single day. But major issues, no. Thankfully, that's still not posing a challenge for me and obstacle in order for me to be able to play and move around the way I want to.

Yeah, it is a very physical game. I mean, it's an individual sport, so I think today's example with Musetti is really clearly showing how challenging this sport is. You know, he was a better player on the court. He was close to win it. He was in the control, and then obviously something happens.

You know, if you are part of the team sports, then maybe you go out and somebody substitutes you for a set, and then you attend to your physical issue and maybe get a better chance to close out the match, but that's not possible, you know, in our sport.

That's the beauty of tennis as an individual sport but also a huge challenge. You always have to be at your best, and particularly at this final stages of a Grand Slam. You know, we all put in the hours. We all try to work hard, but sometimes things like this happen in the heat of the battle where you are straining your body and taking the body to the fullest of the limits.

Emotions play a big part. Obviously you tense up, so you are not moving as fluidly as you are maybe in practice sessions, and then there is a high risk of injury, which is what happened to me, to be honest, several times last year at a slam, so I know exactly the feeling.

It's horrible, particularly when you are feeling you're playing very well, like he was, and, you know, you can't perform the way you want to. It's just your body is not letting you. That's a hard one to swallow, but that's the sport we are in.

Q. When you are in the last stages of a Grand Slam, it's when your game is really peaking and you have been used to that many, many years. I'm just wondering if the confidence is there that it's going to happen again or if a match like today makes you this, okay, maybe that's the last gear?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, I mean, I don't want to take out anything from Musetti's variety that he put in and the quality of tennis he put in today. It was great, for sure. But I think I've underperformed for the level that I showed throughout this tournament up to today.

So, yeah, I have to play better. I mean, no doubt about it. I know that if I'm feeling well and the body is holding on and I'm playing well, then, I mean, I always have a chance. It's semifinals of a Grand Slam, so in terms of level of confidence and motivation, I mean, of course, it's always there. It must be. Otherwise, what's the point of competing?

So I've been in this situation many, many times in my career, and obviously four times last year. I'm glad to repeat the best Grand Slam result from last year, which is reaching semis. You know, I know that it's only going to get tougher from here, but I have to be ready for it.

Now, I cannot predict the result of whether I'm going to play well or not, but I'm definitely going to give my best.

Q. We've seen quite a lot of walkovers and retirements in this tournament. Do you feel like this is just an anomaly in this particular tournament, it's been very hot, the weather, or is there a sense the schedule is not allowing enough recovery time for a lot of players? We know the tennis schedule can be really brutal.

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Yeah, I mean, there's been a lot of talk on the schedule. It's the beginning of the season, so from one point of view, you would say, well, the players rested and trained and get themselves into a good state, physical, emotional, mental game state to perform well, you know, and have no reason for an injury.

But it's kind of a two-edged sword, to be honest, because the offseason is the only time of the year when you can really push yourself physically, but also, you know, mentally, emotionally on the court in terms of tweaking certain things about your game and improving and trying to put more effort than normally you would during the season.

So that also requires a lot of energy and effort, and that puts an additional strain on the player. So if you see things from that perspective, it's also kind of understandable and also, you know, the fact that you haven't played, for most of the players, on a competitive tournament, official tournament, for maybe a month and a half or two months, and coming into new season, obviously body is behaving differently when you are playing official match than playing practice sets.

So that's one of the factors as well that I feel like is influencing the walkovers or the injury issues that we've been seeing. Myself, I mean, I haven't had any big major injuries in Australia for most first part of my career, but then the last five, six years I've had pretty much every year an issue.

In my case it might be the age, it might be certain other things a bit different, but again, you are fresh in a certain way and motivated, but then the body is also shocked in a way when you start a season and you are, like, you know, I'm going to do more than I normally would, because it's just beginning of the season. I want to do well.

That can create physical issues.

Q. There are women players that have played in the last day or so and have been talking about their frustrations with the cameras that are set up in the behind-the-scenes areas of the AO and corridors and showing moments they think are private and feeling invasive there. I asked you about this when they first introduced these cameras seven years ago, and you said it was the "Big Brother World" we're living in. I'm curious what you think of this continuing sort of trying to turn the tournament into a reality show in some ways on TV, and then also, if the players and their anger at this can ever be listened to by the tournament, because the women were saying they didn't feel like there was anything they could do in terms of making a change.

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Yeah, I saw what happened with Coco after her match. Look, I empathize with her. I know what it feels like to break a racquet. I've done it few times in my career. I know how it is to be frustrated, particularly after a match where you underperform.

I agree with her. You know, it's really sad that you can't basically move away anywhere and hide and -- what do you call that -- fume out your frustration, your anger in a way that won't be captured by a camera. But we live in a society and in times where content is everything, so it's a deeper discussion.

I guess it's really hard for me to see the trend changing in the opposite direction, meaning we take out cameras. If you see, it's only going to be as it is or even more cameras.

I mean, I'm surprised that we have no cameras while we are taking shower. I mean, that's probably the next step. I'm against it. I think there should be always a limit and kind of a borderline where, okay, this is our space, but you know, people commercially, you know, there's always a demand, you know. How players warm up, what did they say when they speak to their coaches, and what's their cooldown. You know, they want to see us arriving in the car and walking through corridors.

So, yeah, you got to be careful. In a sense, because I'm on the tour for quite a bit, so I remember the time when we didn't have so many cameras, and then that transition of really getting used to having an eye that you don't hear and may sometimes forget about always on you is frightening, because you know, at times you want to relax and maybe, I don't know, be yourself in a sense that you don't want public to see.

But it's really hard for me to see that that's going backwards, you know? It's just something that I guess we have to accept.

Q. In the early part of your career when you were chasing Roger and Rafa for titles, and now, at the back end of your career, you're chasing Jannik and Carlos.

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I'm chasing Jannik and Carlos? In which sense?

Q. In terms of winning Grand Slam titles just right now.

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: So I'm always the chaser and I'm never being chased?

Q. In the meantime, you've won 24 Grand Slams.

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Thanks. It's worth saying that sometimes, right?

Q. Sorry. I should have...

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: No worries.

Q. What I'm saying is is it possible to compare the way you felt initially when you were chasing Rafa and Roger when now when Carlos and Jannik have split the last Grand Slams?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, I find it a little bit disrespectful that you kind of miss out on what happened in between where the times when I started chasing, as you say, Rafa and Roger, and now that I'm chasing Carlos and Jannik, and there's probably about a 15-year period in between where I was dominating the Grand Slams. So I think it's important to put that in prospective. I don't feel like I'm chasing, to be honest.

Roger and Rafa will always be my greatest rivals. I have tremendous respect for what Jannik and Carlos are doing and they continue to do and they will do for the next 10 to 15, 20 years. God knows how many years they're going to play, they're so young.

This is a kind of natural cycle in sports. You know, you're going to have another two superstars that are going to maybe have another third guy, you know, that I'm going to cheer for, because I've always been the third guy at the beginning, but it's good for our sport.

I think these kind of rivalries and the contrast of the personalities and the styles of play are very good for tennis. How is that affecting me? As I said, I don't feel like I'm chasing.

I'm creating my own history, and I think, you know, I've been very clear when I say that my intention is always to -- in terms of achievements and objectives and results, I want to get to the championship match in every tournament, particularly slams.

Slams are one of the biggest reasons why I keep on competing and playing tennis. So, yeah, I mean, that's all I can say.

Are they better right now than me and all the other guys? Yes, they are. I mean, the quality and the level is amazing. It's great. It's phenomenal.

But does that mean that I walk out with a white flag? No. I'm going to fight until the last shot, until the last point, and do my very best to challenge them.