MELBOURNE: Novak Djokovic said he had never doubted his ability to compete at the highest level after silencing critics with a five-set victory over Jannik Sinner in the Australian Open semi-finals on Friday.
The 38-year-old produced a vintage performance to defeat the two-time defending champion in a gripping contest, setting up a final against Carlos Alcaraz and moving within one match of a record 25th Grand Slam title — his first since September 2023.
“I never stopped believing in myself,” Djokovic told reporters. “There’s a lot of people that doubt me. Suddenly there are a lot of experts who wanted to retire me, or have retired me many times over the last couple of years.
“I want to thank them all, because they gave me strength. They gave me motivation to prove them wrong, which I have tonight. For me, it’s not a surprise, to be honest. I know what I’m capable of.”
Djokovic said experience had helped him navigate matches where his game was not at its peak, a scenario he felt applied on Friday.
I’ve had many matches at Grand Slams where you’re not feeling your best,” he said. “You try to find a way to win with everything you have, even though the quality of tennis is not close to where you want it to be. That was the case.”
The Serbian acknowledged he had benefited from two walkovers earlier in the tournament but insisted there was nothing fortunate about his semi-final triumph.
