Novak Djokovic gets a little cranky: My goal is a trophy. Thank you

Shahida Jacobs 05 Jan 2019 12:11 PM

Novak Djokovic was left frustrated after crashing out of the Qatar Open, but that doesn’t mean he has altered his goals for the Australian Open.

The world No 1 suffered a shock 6-3, 6-7 (8-6), 6-4 defeat at the hands of Roberto Bautista Agut in the semi-final on Friday.

“I want to congratulate him,” the 14-time Grand Slam winner said after the match. “Especially in the third set he played well. I thought he was hitting the ball very cleanly and not making a lot of errors.

“He played a good game. I missed some easy balls and that’s what you get as a result of losing the focus in the most important moments. And it happens, it happens.

“[But] this is what I was looking forward to, to get from this tournament, as many matches as possible, to get ready for the Australian Open. So I’m very pleased.

“Obviously, I’m not pleased that I lost the match today, but I lost to a better player in the end and I have to turn the next page.

“I was very close to winning the match. A few points decided the winner. He was the one.”

Things did get a little touchy during the post-match press conference.

He was initially asked about his goal for Melbourne and replied: “A trophy.”

A reporter then followed it up with: “Even after this week?”

And the reply from the Serb was: “Why, do you think after this week I don’t deserve to be contender for trophy?

“You said even after this week. I don’t understand that comment.

He added: “You asked me what my goal is and it’s a trophy. Thank you.”