"Roger Federer & Rafael Nadal inspire me; as long as they go, I'll go" - Novak Djokovic after winning Australian Open 2021

Novak Djokovic picked up his 18th Grand Slam singles title on Sunday by beating Daniil Medvedev in the Australian Open final. After the win, Djokovic claimed that his Big 3 rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal inspire him to keep fighting on even though he's already achieved so much.

Novak Djokovic has become the first man in history to win the Australian Open nine times. He is now just two shy of the record of 20 Majors, which is jointly held by Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

Having described his Melbourne run this year as 'a rollercoaster', Novak Djokovic went on to assert that will continue trying to win titles as long as his rivals continue to push him.

"Roger and Rafa inspire me. That's something that I've said before, I'll say it again. I think as long as they go, I'll go," Djokovic said. "In a way it's like a race [of] who plays tennis more, I guess, and who wins more. It's a competition between us in all areas. But I think that's the very reason why we are who we are, because we do drive each other, we motivate each other, we push each other to the limit."

With Novak Djokovic already guaranteed to break the all-time record of most weeks at No. 1 in men's tennis, the Serb reiterated that all his energies will now be focused on the Grand Slam record.

"Whether I think about winning more Slams and breaking records, of course. Of course, I do," Djokovic said. "Most of my attention and my energy from this day forward, until I retire from tennis, is going to be directed in Majors, trying to win more Major trophies."

"I know that the longer the time passes, the more difficult it's going to become for me" - Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic has had a complicated time ever since he arrived in Australia last month. Between his controversial letter to Tennis Australia asking for a relaxation in quarantine rules and his injury scare in the third round (which he later confirmed to be a muscle tear), Djokovic once again made headlines for the wrong reasons.

But that is not stopping the Serb from celebrating his 18th Major title to the fullest. Novak Djokovic revealed that he continues to savor every single trophy, especially since he is aware that winning big titles will become tougher with each passing year.

"Even though I have been fortunate to win many Majors and play in many Major finals in my life, I do enjoy the success every single time even more because I know that the longer the time passes, the more difficult it's going to become for me to get my hands on the major trophy," Djokovic said.

"You have, of course, new young players coming up that are as hungry as you, maybe even hungrier, and they're coming up and they're challenging me and Roger and Rafa," he added.