Grand Slam champions are often found on the back of perseverance and determination to succeed on the sport’s biggest stage. Ask the likes of Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner, who have shown perfect examples of it during their winning runs. Additionally, the two also set a great example at the recently concluded Australian Open, which was praised by Serena Williams’ former coach, Patrick Mouratoglou.

Both Sinner and Djokovic had physical issues during the course of the Australian Open this year. While Djokovic suffered a muscle tear, Sinner dealt with illness during his campaign. However, Djokovic played through pain to defeat Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals and Sinner overcame Holger Rune in the fourth round despite being ill. As a result, Mouratoglou was impressed by seeing this will to succeed.

The legendary French coach took to Instagram and said, “Most of the players at every level focus on their problems. The champions? They focus on the solutions. I like the comparison between Novak being injured and beating Carlos and Jannik being sick and beating Holger. They are the two comparisons, actually. Those guys are still able to compete and win being really at 30, 40, 50% of what they can do, which is amazing.”

While Djokovic was unable to continue in his semifinal match against Alexander Zverev, Sinner went on to defeat Zverev to defend his Australian Open title. Further, Sinner’s coach, Darren Cahill, also highlighted the Italian star’s poor condition during the tournament. “He was pretty bad. We didn’t know if he was going to step on the court. It was that bad. We knew from the day before he wasn’t feeling great, so he got to bed early. We canceled all the practices, went to the doctor, they gave him some gels to get the energy up. He rested up, he took an ice bath to get him going, and we threw him onto the court cold,” Cahill said.

Amid Djokovic’s injury, the 24-time Grand Slam champion has broken his silence over his comeback. The return date is set for Djokovic to make a comeback to the court.

When will Novak Djokovic return to the court?

Soon after his Australian Open campaign, Djokovic shared a picture of his MRI scan, which showed the extent of his muscle tear. The report didn’t look promising as he returned to his homeland to seek daily therapies and treatments. Amid his injury struggle, Djokovic opened up about his comeback plans.

The Serb will reportedly make a return to the court at the Doha Open, which begins in a couple of weeks. Talking about his comeback plans, Djokovic said, “I will not play the Davis Cup, and the tournament in Doha in a few weeks is also still uncertain.” While representing his country was one of Djokovic’s main priorities this season, Djokovic would have to forego it due to his muscle injury.

Nonetheless, Djokovic would look to focus on the other goal at hand and that is to win his 25th major title this season. While he showed signs of promise at the Australian Open, the Serb would have to maintain his physical level to succeed on the sport’s biggest stage and win another Grand Slam trophy.