By Richard Pagliaro
Reigning Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic arrives in Melbourne with a major goal in sight and a big bulls-eye on his back.
The world No. 1 is playing for a record-extending ninth AO title and 18th Grand Slam championship as he continues his quest to break rival Roger Federer's record for most weeks as world No. 1 and ultimately surpass 20-time Grand Slam champions Rafael Nadal and Federer in the major race.
Djokovic: I Don't Have Much Respect for Kyrgios
How does Djokovic handle the stress and nerves that come with being defending champion and a massive favorite?
Djokovic admits he gets nervous every time he steps on court and has learned to manage the stress through mental training.
"Every match, every match. Every single match [I get nervous]," Djokovic said at his AO presser today. "I just feel like it's almost impossible to eliminate that kind of pressure, anticipation, the nerves coming into any match really for an athlete. I mean, at least in my case.
"It's just that I managed over the years to train myself, I think with the experience and with also the dedication that I had off the court to the mental preparation, that helped me react better to those kind of emotions."
Stress can act as the proverbial pressure in the champagne bottle. Bubbling stress spilled into Djokovic's stunning default at the US Open when he accidentally struck a lineswoman in the throat after belting a ball in anger.
Djokovic says some devastating losses have inspired his greatest gains as a competitor and have ultimately given him greater insight into his own character.
"Sometimes I don't manage to overcome the pressures and the stress and nerves. Sometimes I do," Djokovic said. "It really just depends. Even though I've been blessed to experience a lot of success, I mean, especially here in Australia, but also in my career, I still feel that those failures, if you want to call them that way, even though I don't believe in failures, I just believe in opportunities to improve, kind of the lessons to be learned, but in those matches you lose, big matches, that's where you learn the most. That's where you're facing the kind of wall mentally. You're upset."
"You have a lot of different things happening, and you feel like you let yourself down. That's where it's the biggest opportunity for you to really address that and become stronger, more capable. You can get to know yourself a little bit on deeper levels."
Djokovic displayed the depth of his competitive character fighting back from a two-set-to-one deficit to defeat Dominic Thiem in the 2020 Australian Open final. He owns an 8-0 record in AO finals and launches his title defense against Frenchman Jeremy Chardy Monday night.
The man Hall of Famer John McEnroe calls "the best mover I've seen on a tennis court" shared the Asics kicks he will debut in Melbourne in this Instagram post.
Photo credit: Mark Peterson/Corleve