{"id":362713,"date":"2024-01-25T21:23:48","date_gmt":"2024-01-25T22:23:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=362713"},"modified":"2024-01-25T23:02:05","modified_gmt":"2024-01-25T23:02:05","slug":"struggle-that-could-end-djokovics-melbourne-streak","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=362713","title":{"rendered":"'Struggle' that could end Djokovic's Melbourne streak"},"content":{"rendered":"

Novak Djokovic<\/a> has admitted it's getting harder to make the \ufeffannual trip Down Under to play at the Australian Open<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The 10-time champion at Melbourne Park is short odds to add an 11th title to his already-record haul, and takes on Jannik Sinner<\/a> on Friday night for a spot in Sunday's final.<\/p>\n

But while his love affair with the Victorian capital is not waning, he opened up to Nine's Today <\/em>host Karl Stefanovic about the challenges of flying to Australia each year.<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Khawaja lands top ICC Test cricketer of the year honour\ufeff<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Star's career on the line as Bennett verdict looms<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\ufeffREAD MORE:<\/strong> Beaten Gauff denies opponent's act cost her\ufeff<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Stefanovic specifically asked Djokovic, 36, if he's dealing OK with leaving his wife and two children at home while he goes on tour.<\/p>\n

"\ufeffNot really, to be honest. I do struggle with that more and more as the time goes on," Djokovic said in the exclusive sit-down, to air fully on Monday.<\/p>\n

\"Novak<\/p>\n

"Australia is a long trip, probably the longest trip we have in the entire year. Being away for five weeks is quite a lot.<\/p>\n

"My son is nine, my daughter is six, every day, every week they change, there's a lot happening.<\/p>\n

"My daughter's first tooth went out and I wasn't there for that. But it's all about balance."<\/p>\n

Watch the 2024 Australian Open live and exclusive on Nine, <\/strong><\/em>9Now<\/strong><\/em><\/a> and ad-free on <\/strong><\/em>Stan Sport<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Djokovic is in the midst of an incredible 33-game win streak \ufeffat the Australian Open, but many experts are tipping Sinner to end that run on Friday night.<\/p>\n

Melbourne holds a special place in the Serbian superstar 's heart, even after his shock deportation on the eve of the 2022 Open due to his refusal to get vaccinated against COVID-19.<\/p>\n

"Obviously because of tennis and the success I've had here, it means a lot to me," he told Today<\/em>.<\/p>\n

"Every time I step out onto Rod Laver Arena I relive the memories of previous years and everything I've been through.<\/p>\n

"I wanted to say I've enjoyed myself every single year… except one year. There was a short stay.\ufeff"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Novak Djokovic has admitted it's getting harder to make the \ufeffannual trip Down Under to play at the Australian Open. The 10-time champion at Melbourne […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":362715,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/362713"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=362713"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/362713\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":362716,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/362713\/revisions\/362716"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/362715"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=362713"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=362713"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=362713"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}