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Melbourne (AP) - Since his last Australian Open triumph, Novak Djokovic has had a troubled time.
The Serbian tennis star co-organized the controversial Adriatic Tour, which dealt with the corona virus carelessly.
He caused a scandal at the US Open, which is why he was disqualified.
Again and again, the world number one offended, also because he resigned from the players' council.
And in the days before his ninth final in Melbourne with the chance for the ninth title at the Australian Open on Sunday (9.30 a.m. / Eurosport) against Daniil Medvedev, it was puzzled as to how serious his abdominal muscle injury actually is.
«I felt as good as I have never felt in this tournament.
The timing couldn't be better to play my best tennis, ”said the 33-year-old after his masterful success in the semi-final against qualifier Aslan Karazew.
He was exhausted, especially after the quarter-finals against Hamburg's Alexander Zverev, he revealed and explained: "I knew that things would get better when I triumph over Zverev."
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A few days earlier it had sounded different when Djokovic said he would have given up if he weren't in the middle of a Grand Slam tournament.
And thus in the highest tournament category that particularly drives him.
He didn't want to talk about the exact nature of the injury during the tournament.
On the last day of the two-week tournament, Djokovic now has the chance of his ninth title in his favorite place.
It's been 13 years since he triumphed here for the first time.
Eight times he was in the final of the Australian Open.
He then left Melbourne eight times as the winner.
The final on this Sunday now promises a particularly interesting constellation.
Not only because it is once again about the generation struggle.
It is about the fact that the following players like Medvedev could triumph in a final at this level against one of the outstanding trio - Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer.
The Austrian Dominic Thiem became the first Grand Slam champion at the US Open in September, who was born in the 1990s, but in the final against Zverev - after Djokovic was disqualified.
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This endgame constellation also offers a special attraction because Medvedev is “the player of the hour”, as Boris Becker puts it.
Across the seasons, the 25-year-old has won 20 games in a row.
He has not lost since October, when he was defeated by South African Kevin Anderson in Vienna.
He won the Masters tournament in Paris as well as the ATP Finals, he led Russia to victory in the ATP Cup.
He has beaten everyone in the top ten at least once in the past few months, except for the paused Federer - including Djokovic in two sets in London.
«Medvedev is playing at an extremely high level.
He's the player to beat, ”said Djokovic.
Medvedev is considered a particularly clever player who understands mind games just like the Serb.
"I would say winning a Grand Slam, especially against someone like Novak, is a great motivation, and I don't think there's anything that can make it bigger," he said, responding to Djokovic's taunts. the younger generation had work ahead of them and he would not simply let them win.
"I'm pretty motivated even without these words," said the Russian.
Medvedev is counting on a fit opponent anyway.
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Djokovic and Medvedev in direct comparison