"I went Daniil Medvedev style" - Novak Djokovic clarifies his 'not happy' celebration after QF despite breaking record at Monte-Carlo Masters 2024

Novak Djokovic emulated Daniil Medvedev's trademark celebration after winning his quarterfinal match against Alex de Minaur 7-5, 6-4 at the Monte-Carlo Masters on Friday (April 12).

Djokovic, who had failed to reach the semifinals in his last eight appearances in the Principality, was not in great shape during his last-eight clash against the Aussie. However, the Serb still managed to pull through in two tight sets to achieve a rather impressive feat.

The World No. 1 has now made the semifinals of an ATP Masters 1000 tournament on a record 77 occasions. A journalist mentioned the above fact during the 36-year-old's press conference following his win in Monte-Carlo on Friday. Moreover, they were perplexed at his muted celebration despite bagging another record.

"Novak, 77th semifinal. You broke another record. But at the end of the match, you did not seem to me that happy, that is looking like you're concerned about something. Can you share us your thoughts with us?" the journalist asked.

In response, Novak Djokovic claimed he was simply relieved to get through such an arduous challenge. He also made a reference to Daniil Medvedev's knack of not enthusiastically celebrating his wins, before lavishing praise on the Russian for his authenticity.

"Yeah, it was just a sign of relief, I think. It was more just that it was finished, you know, rather than to celebrate. I didn't really feel like celebrating too much. Sometimes I do the Medvedev celebration like today, and sometimes I do actually celebrate," Novak Djokovic said during his press conference on Friday. "By the way, that's a compliment. I think it's really interesting. I think it's very funny. He's very authentic. Today I went Medvedev style. I just... (smiling)."

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"I love this tournament, know this club very well" - Novak Djokovic on reaching Monte-Carlo SFs for the first time since 2015

Monte-Carlo Masters - Day Six

Following his quarterfinal win, Novak Djokovic expressed delight at reaching the semifinals of the Monte-Carlo Masters during his on-court interview. The Serb hadn't made it to the last-four stage since 2015, which led him to admit that winning back-to-back matches at the tournament was previously "quite tough for him".

"I'm very happy to be back in the semis, as you say it's been a while. And I love this tournament, I know this club very well, been training for so many years here," Novak Djokovic said during his on-court interview. "Last 7-8 years has been quite tough, I must say, for me to win two or three matches consecutively. But here we are, another semis and I look forward to it."

The World No. 1 has triumphed in Monte-Carlo twice (2013, 2015). He will be eager to win the Masters-level event for the third time, which will allow him to complete the elusive "Triple Career Golden Masters".