"Novak Djokovic looks like he is 19 years old" - Victoria Azarenka shares how she draws inspiration from Serb during the later stages of her career

Former World No. 1 Victoria Azarenka has revealed that she found inspiration for her longevity during the latter stages of her career from none other than Novak Djokovic.

Azarenka has reached the semifinals of the 2024 Miami Open by beating Yulia Putintseva 7-6(4), 1-6, 6-3 on March 27. The quarterfinal match had plenty of drama, including Mike Tyson being stopped by security from entering and a power outage out of nowhere.

After surviving the topsy-turvy affair, Victoria Azarenka shared in an interview with the Tennis Channel how Djokovic's enduring success at 36 years old, with 24 Grand Slams, inspires her to continue to excel.

"I try to get inspiration from Novak [Djokovic] because he looks like he is still 19 years old," Azarenka said. "I don't feel like 34, you know. I don't feel like I have played 20 years on tour. But, sometimes, the body, when you wake up in the morning, it lets you know."

The 34-year-old Belarusian then expressed her desire to keep challenging top players and make deep runs at tournaments.

"But, honestly, as I said, I wanna continue to play, I wanna continue to improve, I wanna continue to learn," Victoria Azarenka said. "I think I am always just gonna be a student of life, a student of learning. I wanna continue to push myself against the top girls. I wanna face the top players."

"I wanna be in those late stages of the tournament. That's what motivates me. To play the, kind of like average third round, fourth round, that's not exciting for me. So, I am gonna continue to push myself to get better," she added.

Azarenka will face the winner of the match between Elena Rybakina and Maria Sakkari in her fifth Miami Open semifinal on March 28. The Belarusian has won the tournament three times to date (in 2009, 2011, and 2016).

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Novak Djokovic set to kick-off clay season at Monte-Carlo Masters

Novak Djokovic pictured at the 2024 BNP Paribas Open

The 2024 season hasn't been kind to Novak Djokovic so far. His Golden Slam hopes were dashed after he fell short in the Australian Open semifinals against Jannik Sinner.

The Serb encountered further hurdles at the Indian Wells Masters, where he suffered a surprising third-round defeat against lucky loser Luca Nardi. He then opted to withdraw from the Miami Open.

Djokovic is gearing up for the clay season now, with his first stop being the Monte-Carlo Masters. This has been one of his least successful ATP 1000 tournaments, as he has emerged victorious only twice.

The 24-time Major champion has already begun training on the red dirt. A video of his practice session in his hometown Belgrade has been taking swings on social media platforms as well.