Djokovic relieved to pill it off again

NOVAK DJOKOVIC has claimed he is ready to play through the pain barrier to reclaim his 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 yesterday.

But the nine-time champion got up to see off No.27 seed Grigor Dimitrov 7-6 6-3 6-4.

Djokovic said: “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.