2021 Australian Open: Djokovic to take time off to heal muscle tear

Novak Djokovic after winning 2021 Australian Open

Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic said he will take some time off on the sidelines to heal and recover from a muscle tear that hindered him in the later rounds of the Grand Slam.

Djokovic used superb serving and his usual relentless returning and baseline supremacy to grab 11 of 13 games in one stretch and beat a visibly frustrated Daniil Medvedev 7-5, 6-2, 6-2 on Sunday for a third trophy in a row at Melbourne Park.

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“I just came actually came from another MRI that I`ve done this morning and the damage is bigger than what it was when it happened when I did the first MRI after the third round,” Djokovic told reporters.

“It`s not too bad judging by what the doctor said but I`ll have to take some time off and heal. The tear is bigger.”

“I reflect on it as a great experience, and a unique journey, and I would definitely remember and try to take out a lot of positives from it,” he said.

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“I have learned a lot of lessons, and learned a lot of things, about myself and about everything that was going on in the last five to six weeks, but I think that everything that was happening on and off the court makes this victory even better and even sweeter.”

Djokovic said he had celebrated his triumph by calling his family back home in Serbia and sitting down for a meal capped off with a cake.

“I used to go wild and go to discotheques and nightclubs and god knows what, and now it is a bit different,” he said.