Novak Djokovic: 'When I am ready, I am the best'

When Novak Djokovic captured a 10th Australian Open title and 22nd major last month to join Rafael Nadal at the top of the men’s all-time list of most grand slams won, he celebrated on court with a big smile on his face.

Djokovic playfully gestured to the crowd to cheer louder, looked up and gave a quick prayer, then tapped the ground with his hand a few times and gently patted his chest.

The Serb then went to the stands to celebrate with his family and team in the player’s box. He roared and hugged his coach and agents, and when he embraced his brother Marko and his mother Dijana, he fell to the ground and wept for over a minute. It was perhaps the most emotional anyone’s ever seen Djokovic after a victory, and the moment spoke louder than any speech or interview he has given since.

Djokovic says he has rewatched the video of that moment and describes it as an “emotional collapse”.

“There were a lot of things that were coming together,” Djokovic told The National in ahead of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

“Obviously pressure is always there, that’s not something new, but I felt like this year there was something more added to an already existing high level of pressure and expectations.”

Djokovic went into the Australian Open as a clear favourite, and with a title under his belt from an impressive week in Adelaide. He was excited to return to Melbourne, his happiest hunting ground, but was also anxious about how he was going to be received after the deportation drama that unfolded the previous year, which prevented him from competing Down Under.

“Of course there were a lot of questions, a lot of attention towards me, considering what happened 12 months ago, and I could feel that. As much as I wanted to kind of