Novak Djokovic evaluates fitness after 1R Australian Open 2023 win, suggests he was "protecting something that was bothering him" 

Novak Djokovic sailed through his opening round match at the 2023 Australian Open. The Serb, who was up against Spain’s Roberto Carballes Baena, finished the job in style, producing a bagel against his opponent and settling the scoreline at 6-3, 6-4, 6-0.

The former World No. 1 has, however, been experiencing some discomfort in his left leg for the past few days. In the post-match press conference, Djokovic gave an update on the same, stating that although the leg felt good, it wasn’t completely healed. The 35-year-old noted that he used his first-round match at the Australian Open to take stock of his situation since he was unable to get enough training sessions under his belt.

"The leg is good. It's not ideal, but it's getting there," Novak Djokovic said. "I was kind of testing my leg a little bit. Today was a really good test. Haven't had too much training in the last few days, to be honest with you, tennis-wise."

The Serb further conveyed that he was content with how the match played out and was satisfied with his form despite feeling mentally and physically tight during the opening games.

"I was really, really hoping that things will be well on the court from the first to the last point, which was the case," the 21-time Major winner said. "At the beginning I was a bit tight, I would say, mentally as well, to protect something that was bothering me last 10 days. So it took me a little bit of time to really get into the match and start, I guess, moving more freely."

"I'm actually really glad that it felt better as the match progressed. The third set was great. I mean, that's a good signal, a good sign," he added.

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Novak Djokovic’s projected path to 2023 Australian Open title

Novak Djokovic at the 2023 Australian Open

Novak Djokovic is vying for history at the 2023 Australian Open. The former World No. 1 will look to claim a record-extending tenth title at the tournament as well as the top position in the ATP rankings to add to the record of the number of weeks as the World No. 1. He will additionally be aiming for his 22nd Grand Slam title, which will see him go level with arch-rival Rafael Nadal.

In the Serb's path to the Melbourne title lie potential clashes with Hugo Dellien (R2), Grigor Dimitrov (R3), Pablo Carreno Busta (R4), Andrey Rublev/ Holger Rune (QF), Taylor Fritz/ Caper Ruud (SF) before a likely clash between either Rafael Nadal, Stefanos Tsitsipas or Daniil Medvedev in the final.