Pain's a bitter pill but Djokovic battles on

NOVAK DJOKOVIC has claimed he is ready to play through the pain barrier to reclaim the Australian Open title and world No.1 spot.

- Neil McLeman

The Serbian superstar needed another medical timeout on his injured left hamstring after falling to the court on winning the first set tie-break. But the nine-time champion got up to see off No.27 seed Grigor Dimitrov 7-6 6-3 6-4. 

Djokovic revealed: “It’s a specific movement that just triggers the pain. I pray it is not going to happen but it happens every match so I have to deal with it. I called the physio and got the pills in my system.

“It’s helped so far – not ideal but somehow finding a way. This is high-level professional sport – you’ve got to find a way.

“Pills kick in, some hot cream and stuff. That works for a little bit, then it doesn’t, then works again. It’s really a rollercoaster, honestly.

“The way it looked just before the tournament, I thought it wouldn’t be possible.