Novak Djokovic opens on how 2008 Australian Open changed him

In a press conference at the Australian Open called this tournament as his most successful Grand Slam, having won six times there. The Serbian player conquered his maiden Major title just in Melbourne in , defeating in the final.

Back in 2008, it was my first trophy that I won, first major trophy, that obviously served as a great springboard for my career, said Djokovic. It opened a lot of doors for me. It allowed me to believe in myself that I can actually win the biggest tournaments in the world, challenge the best players in the world.

To that point, obviously I was a youngster that had a lot of potential and talent, was kind of working my way up. But winning a slam is completely different. So that was quite a unique experience for me. I had a wonderful year, 2008.

Almost reached the No. 2. I think I ended up No. 3 of the year. Started the year 2009 at No. 2. I have not won any slam for, yeah, two, three years. It took me a while to really make that breakthrough again. The second time, its quite different from the first time.

Its obviously even more difficult because you get to experience the amounts of pressure and expectations from yourself and from others that you have not experienced before. But you as a Grand Slam champion will always stay a Grand Slam champion, so there is always going to be that kind of expectations behind you, from yourself as well.

If you won it once, you always believe that you can win it again. ALSO READ: Djokovic would beat Roger Federer in Australian Open final – Evert