'Every season counts now' says Djokovic as he makes Melbourne last 16
The Serb came through a titanic 77-minute first set before taming the Bulgarian 7-6 (9/7), 6-3, 6-4 on Rod Laver Arena, needing treatment twice on his troublesome hamstring.
He will face home hope Alex de Minaur for a place in the quarter-finals after the 22nd seed equalled his best result at the tournament by defeating Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi in three sets.
Djokovic's gutsy win inched him nearer to a 10th Australian Open title and record-tying 22 Grand Slam crowns.
Winning once again in Melbourne would also return him to world number one for the first time since June.
Now 35, Djokovic said he was savouring each tournament more.
"Every season counts I guess now, when you come to the last stage, the last quarter, of your career," he said.
"Obviously you start appreciating and valuing each tournament more because you might not have a lot left in the tank.
"I've been truly fortunate to do what I love, I love the sport, I love competing. It's been almost 20 years now of professional sport. I can't be more grateful than I am."
Victory put Djokovic into the last 16 for a 15th time but he was made to work for it, especially with his left hamstring troubling him.
"Every point, every game mattered," he said.
"Obviously I didn't know how I'm going to feel physically, it was going up and down," he said.
"It was an incredible battle, three sets over three hours."
Djokovic aggravated his hamstring during his run to a 92nd title at the Adelaide International this month and has been struggling with it since.
'Ready for the battle'
Djokovic came into the match without his usual off-day practice session to give his leg as much time as possible to recover.
With his left thigh heavily strapped, the Serb broke immediately and consolidated to take an early grip on the first set.
He was cruising but appeared to feel the injury when moving for a shot at 5-3. He managed to earn three set points, which were saved, but was then broken when serving for the set at 5-4.
Agitated, he complained to the umpire about being given a time violation and was then forced to save two set points, before an epic tiebreak.
He eventually got over the line on his fifth set point after some intense tennis.
Djokovic took a medical timeout at the changeover and returned to dial up the pressure and take a break before comfortably seeing out the second set.
With Dimitrov flagging, he turned the screws further by breaking twice early in set three.
Despite a mid-set wobble when the Bulgarian clawed back and then more treatment on his leg, Djokovic battled to the finish line.
De Minaur, who is aiming for a first quarter-final at Melbourne Park, now awaits Djokovic after a 7-6 (7/0), 6-2, 6-1 victory.
"These are the matches you want to be playing," said the Australian.
"I'm gonna probably have the best in the world in front of me and I'm ready for the battle."
Gruelling Schedule
Djokovic said that Australian Open organisers should take player input into account when scheduling matches, adding that late night clashes are "gruelling" for players.
Andy Murray slammed officials as his epic five-set win over Thanasi Kokkinakis finished after 4 a.m. on Friday (1700 GMT on Thursday), well beyond the usual Grand Slam midnight madness.
Following his elimination from the tournament at the hands of Roberto Bautista Agut in the third round on Saturday, the Scot again criticised the scheduling, saying, "finishing matches at 4 in the morning isn't good for the players."
When asked for his opinion on Murray's comments, nine-times champion Djokovic told reporters: "I think that players' input is always important for tournament organisation.
"We know that it's not (decisive) because it comes down to what the TV broadcasters want to have. That's the ultimate decision maker.
"I would agree with his (Murray's) points... For the crowd, it's entertaining, it's exciting, to have matches (end at) midnight, 1, 2, 3 am. For us, it's really gruelling.
"Even if you go through and win, prevail in these kind of matches, you still have to come back.
"You have your sleeping cycle, rhythm disrupted completely, not enough time really to recover for another five-setter. Yeah, something needs to be addressed I guess in terms of the schedule after what we've seen this year."
