MELBOURNE, Australia—Novak Djokovic, whose 6-1, 7-5, 7-6 (3) victory over Andy Murray at the Australian Open gives him 11 Grand Slam singles titles, vows that he will not let down his guard as he aims for more majors.
Djokovic has won four of his last five Grand Slam tournaments—missing out on only the 2015 French Open—and has reached the final in his last 17 tournaments overall. But the runaway world No. 1 insists that he cannot back off at all.
“It's much easier for the wolf that is going uphill and running up the mountain—not easier, but he was hungrier than the wolf standing on the hill,” said Djokovic after his record-tying sixth Australian Open win.
“You can observe it from different sides, but, I believe that all the guys that are out there fighting each week to get to No. 1 are very hungry to get to No. 1, and I know that. I can't allow myself to relax and enjoy. Of course I want to enjoy, and I will, but it's not going to go more than few days. After that I’m already thinking about how can I continue on playing well throughout the rest of the season each tournament.
“Kind of a mindset that one needs to have if one wants to stay up there. Because I think you need to work double as hard when you're up there.”