Novak Djokovic fires ‘confidence’ warning to big-serving rivals in Brisbane quest
Novak Djokovic has revealed he has a “great deal of confidence” heading into the latter stages of the Brisbane International.
The world No 7 safely reached the last eight of the ATP 250 tournament on Thursday, dispatching Gael Monfils 6-3, 6-3 inside the Pat Rafter Arena.
It was the 20th win in as many meetings against Monfils for the Serbian, who went three from three on break point opportunities – while saving the only break point he faced.
Djokovic is widely recognised as the greatest returner in men’s tennis history and this aspect of his game has been firing in Brisbane so far, also breaking Rinky Hijikata three times in round one.
Reflecting on his win over Monfils, the top seed admitted that he felt his return had been “really awesome” throughout the entirety of the contest.
“You want to make a statement to yourself and to others that you are able to convert particularly break points when they’re presented,” said Djokovic.
“I know that I have a good reputation with my return. I mean, that’s great. You still have to make shots. You still have to put pressure on the opponents.
“I think my return was really awesome today. I was very happy about it. Whenever I could get my racquet on a ball, I made him play.
“That definitely put a lot of pressure on his serve, which was really good today. He had a high percentage of first serves in.”
Monfils is a big server, but few serve as big and as well as Djokovic’s potential next two opponents at the tournament.
The 37-year-old will face Reilly Opelka in the quarter-final, with the American on the comeback trail after a string of long-term injury issues in recent seasons.
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Should Djokovic win that contest, he could then face Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in the semi-finals – if the Frenchman defeats Jakub Mensik in his quarter-final.
Playing someone such as Opelka is “frustrating”, according to Djokovic, who will be playing the American for the first time.
However, it is fair to say the 24-time Grand Slam champion is in a buoyant mood ahead of his match against the former world No 17 – the last match on court on Friday.
He added: “Going into the quarters now against Opelka, one of the best servers in the game. Great guy. Again, someone that struggled with injuries the last few years.
“Just awfully frustrating to play against, like Isner in his best days. Mpetshi Perricard, as well. Youngster, big guy, huge serve.
“Sometimes you’re more walking in the return games than you’re actually playing. You have to get used to that.
“When the opportunities are presented, in the tiebreak or maybe before, you try to put that pressure on your server. That’s what I’ve been able to do most of the times in my career.
“I think the performance tonight [against Monfils] gives me a great deal of confidence coming into tomorrow.”
Should Djokovic triumph in Brisbane, it would be the 100th title title of his career.
Jimmy Connors (109) and Roger Federer (103) are the only men in the Open Era to have so far won more singles titles than him.
