▶ 09.02.24, 1라운드 : N. DJOKOVIC/F. Cipolla 6-3, 6-2
Q. Your thoughts on the match?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, I'm happy that I'm through in straight sets, but certainly it wasn't the performance I was looking for. I didn't expect him to play so many short balls, and with a change of pace, and that's probably what didn't give me a lot of rhythm. It's my first match, and I didn't have a lot of practice here and arrived two days ago from Europe. But it's all right. Hopefully I can go with my game towards the finish of the tournament.
Q. Is it tougher to switch from indoors to out, or go outdoors to in?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I think indoors to outdoors, because outdoors, you have elements probably that affect most, wind, heat, sun, things like that; it's different. Indoors, you can get more still conditions and get rhythm much faster than outdoors. But as I said, you always need a couple of days, which I didn't have. That's probably the reason why I had a little weaker performance today.
Q. What did you think when you heard that Federer and Nadal were not playing here? Did you feel disappointed that you could not test yourself against them?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: No. I didn't have any feelings to be honest. I just try to focus on myself and I had some ups and downs this year. I didn't really start the year the -- the way things went, it was a little more difficult for me. So I'm trying to get on the right path, and that's what the most matters for me.
Q. Most of us have not seen you since Australia. What happened in the aftermath of that? How were you after that, and what did you do to sort of pick yourself up again?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I had to take some time off. There were speculations about that in the media, which I understand, obviously, but the people don't understand how hot it was. And there was no absolutely logic in me playing during the day, if I finished 2:00, 2:30 in the morning the night before. There was a couple of things involved, but I just don't want to come back to it. It's just what has been, it has been. It's passed.
Q. You spoke about, obviously, tonight, struggling to find your rhythm. Is there a sense sometimes that in the first round, you actually prefer a three-set match so you just get more court time?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, I don't know. It's really hard to say. You always want to finish earlier, and winning in straight sets, but maybe sometimes three sets is needed. I don't think tonight's goal was to play three sets. I think it was just to perform good tennis, be aggressive. I was a bit too aggressive. I made some unforced errors, but happy to be in the second round.
Q. With all of the pressure and expectation that you've experienced over the past 12 months, are you enjoying this game quite as much as you once did?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, look, it's a good question. I always try to enjoy what I do on and off the court. And really, I certainly don't have too many issues outside of the court, because I try to be as positive as I can, and try to enjoy the life. And I'm really happy with all of the things that are happening for me. I have a great surroundings, great people, honest people who have been really supporting me in my career. The only thing is for sure I didn't like the things that have been happening around in this, you know, last, seven, eight months in the media about me. But you know, that's a part of the life and I just have to deal with it.
Q. How are the tournament preparations coming on for Belgrade, with your family running it?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Yes, we are directly involved in the organization. I can say that I'm really happy with the way things are going. We are on schedule and we will try to make one of the best organized events in the world, really. I know it's the first year, but me as a player, from the player's perspective, I know all of the things which are really important from the player's side, and of course sponsor's side. And all Serbia is now living for tennis. It's the No. 1 sport, and everybody wants to come almost to attend the event, which helps us, as well.
Q. What sort of field have you got?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Sorry?
Q. What sort of field have you got? What players have you got?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, we are still negotiating. We are still negotiating. I can't say the names. I don't want to announce before it's certain.
Q. You're seeded No. 1. If seedings go to form, could you place Andy in the final on Saturday. If that happens, how would you feel about that?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: It's still a long way, a long way to the final. I have tough encounters. Every match is important as the final. Next round I have Hernych, I won against him last week in Marseilles. Hopefully I can get through that, and then I have opponents like Cilic, who has lost only one match this year. Let's see if it comes through to my encounter against Andy. I think everybody would like to see that, but we go step-by-step.
Q. They are talking about the dream final to see seed one versus seed two.
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Yes.
Q. How impressed are you with the way Andy is playing, two titles this season already?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, look, he's one of best players in the world, there's no doubt. He's been playing fantastic tennis in the past couple of months, and he's proven that. So, he gained a lot of strength physically. He's there at the top and he always was playing really smart tennis and with a great touch. So, you know, it's a matter of time when he can win a Grand Slam title.
Q. Next week in Spain, Davis Cup, is it a big, big favorite or just a favorite?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: The title defenders are obviously the, defenders whoever we play, and Spain is the best team in the world at the moment. But one thing is for sure; that we are not going there to, you know, just play some good tennis. I think we have quite a young team, which can really challenge every team on the world on every surface. I believe that. Of course, Rafa not playing makes a whole lot of difference, but still, they are favorites.
Q. Coming back to today's match, were you happy with your first serve? You missed a lot of first serves.
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, not really. But I'm trying to take the best out of it. I think I need to work on the serve and some other elements of my game in these couple of days, if I may still in the tournament. So as I said, I didn't get an outdoor match since the Australian Open and played in the indoors most of this time. So still need some time to get used to the conditions.
Q. When there was a doubt about this tournament, the question was that you would get a Visa; were you consulted by the ATP about this?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Not really. I wasn't consulted by anybody. I did follow, and I was informed, because it was a big story. It was a very difficult thing and very sensitive for both sides, but I'm glad it got solved.
End of FastScripts
▶ 09.02.26, 8강 : N. DJOKOVIC/M.Cilic 6-3, 6-4
Q. So the real Novak Djokovic showed up tonight. NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Yeah, I was willing and trying in the last three matches to find this exact rhythm, and that's what I did today. I think the key today was movement and focus. I was really trying to move well in the point, be patient, and just wait for the chances that, you know, has been -- have been given to me throughout the whole match because I was returning as well, as well. He dropped with the serve a little bit in the second set a little bit because he got a lot of balls back. But again, saying I was quite lucky not to be broken once in the whole match.
Q. He came back at you quite strongly after the good start you had, didn't he?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Yeah, actually I knew he was going to be very aggressive, and it's hard to give that this aggressiveness back from your side when you have a tall player who is standing close to the line all the time. So I needed to make kind of a combination of the game, aggressive game, and then patient game at the same time, which I think I did well.
Q. You obviously can't play at your best the whole time. Do you find you're at the stage where you play as well as you need to be?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, I don't think I played as well as I needed to yesterday. I was pretty close to defeat. Well, look, every match you try to give your best. It's a matter of the opponent, of course, who you play against, and you decide what you want to do, what kind of tactic you want to perform on the court. And certainly maybe I don't keep my focus 100 percent all the time, which I think I need to do that more often if I want to really come at the finish, or at the late stages of every tournament.
Q. Are you fully comfortable with your new racquet, and what advantages does it give you over the old one?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, look, I got that question really a thousand times since the start of the year, because I had some ups and downs, and I was really even changing some things in the racquet on the start of the year, on the tournaments, which was a little bit frustrating me. But I managed to find the good rhythm with the racquet, and so it really takes time, as well, mentally, to accept the change. It's a big change, a big switch. But if I play the way I played today, it's good.
Q. And does it give you any advantages over your old racquet? Do you notice more power, more control?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, I think it has more power, and a little bit too much power in some moments (laughing).
Q. Is this as well as you've played this year?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Look, I played really well in Australian Open, a couple of opening rounds against Stoppini I played well; Chardy. And then I had some bad performances against Roddick in the semifinals. I had some ups and downs here and there. But I'm still looking for that consistency which I had great in 2008.
Q. You have your prospects of winning this tournament improved by the withdrawal tonight of Andy Murray. Any comment on that?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, I heard that just before my match. I don't know what is the reason -- oh, I heard it's a virus, right. He was looking okay till today, I don't know. I mean, he has to have a serious reason to withdraw from the tournament. So, it happens. There's a lot of viruses around.
Q. And you feel confident now that you can go all the way?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, I wasn't thinking about Andy, because I would meet him in the finals. As I said, I have, you know, a couple more matches to go to the final, I have Gilles Simon in the next round. And I had a couple of matches, really close matches and played three sets in Marseilles last year, in Shanghai last year. It's not going to be easy, for sure. So I have to overpass him, and we'll see.
Q. I remember 12 months ago when you came here, I think you had just come from Moscow and you were very sick in Davis Cup and you talked about how one of the goals was trying to keep well, keep fitter. Have you changed your diet or anything? Have you looked into certain things, just to try and keep more healthy?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, I think everybody is trying to be healthier at the times. But as you can see, it's even not possible for the players who are really fit and working hard, the top players I'm talking about: Nadal, Federer, Murray, myself. We are playing a lot of matches, a lot of tournaments, and it can be really too much at the time because you are changing continents, changing countries, time zones. It's not easy. You always have to adopt to conditions for a couple of days, but with he don't have a couple of days. I came from Marseilles here, and I had to play already second day I arrived here. It's risky for the health, but you always try to rest as much as you can, save the energy and eat well. THE MODERATOR: Last question? Thank you.
End of FastScripts
▶ 09.02.27, 4강 : N. DJOKOVIC/G. Simon 3-6, 7-5, 7-5
Q. Do you feel a little bit lucky to get out of that one?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, yes, but I think you have to work for luck. I think it's not just -- it doesn't just fall through the sky. I think I fight my way through in the match, really believed till the end, and mentally, this is a very important win for me.
Q. The third set, coming from a break down like that, how did you keep up that sense of belief?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, look, this is my profession. This is what I do all my life. If I -- as I was saying before, if I want to stay on top of the men's game, I have to win these matches, because Simon is certainly one of the best players in the world. He plays a very unique game. He's very solid from all sides, and playing with a very small number of unforced errors, which, you know, when you see him, you don't think that physically he's that strong and he has great endurance. But actually when you play against him, you get a totally different impression, because he moves so well over the court; fantastic.
Q. He was unhappy with his game today, and he made the suggestion that you were both below par, you both didn't rise to the occasion. What's your view of that?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, look, everybody has opinion. I don't think we played a bad match.
I think we -- a quite solid match, we played. The thing is that I made a lot of unforced errors in the first set and at the start of the second set. I think he was playing kind of solid and one style of the game throughout the whole match. It was just a matter of, if I can change something in my game so I can, you know, start winning the games and points, and that's what I did. I started being more patient and more come from the baseline, Opening up the court and giving myself opportunities. Look, in general, you know, we can't always perform 100 percent. But I don't think we played a bad match.
Q. So if you put it on a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate your performance?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I don't rate his performance, I rate mine. So yesterday, I played better, I think in general, but it's two different encounters. You have a Cilic, who is very aggressive, makes a lot of unforced errors and gives you a lot of free points. And then you have Simon on the other side who makes you, you know, play a lot of unforced errors. So I can't really judge.
Q. Moving on to the final, it's going to be in darkness; do you prefer it that way?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, look, once you get used to something -- you know, I've practiced at the Australian Open for 10 days, two weeks indoors, playing Marseilles indoors and playing the first three matches here in the dark, and suddenly I come up on the sunlight, and it's quite -- it's totally different. First of all, the sun; second of all, it's a big heat; and then the ball is much faster during the day than in the night. So I needed some time to get used to that. And on the opposite side, he played all his matches during the day, so I would say he had a little advantage by that. But I think I prefer night. 7:00 is a perfect time.
Q. Were you wilting out there in the intense heat?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Sorry?
Q. Were you wilting, were you tiring badly?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, yes, I am, but as I said on the court, this is for both of us the same.
As I mentioned before, maybe a slight advantage for him playing during the day, but again, you know, you have to adapt to the conditions. This is professional tennis. You just play the best you can.
End of FastScripts
▶ 09.02.28, 결승 : N. DJOKOVIC/D. Ferrer 7-5, 6-3
Q. Are you satisfied?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Yeah, of course. Winning the tournament, any tournament, is a huge success, and especially here in Dubai, which has a history of being one of the strongest events in the Tour. That's the reason they got a 500 event from this year. They are very strong, even though they had difficulties with the pullouts from the top players. But even still, I think we had a great week.
Q. Given that you had a very tight schedule from Marseilles to here, and then a very difficult semifinal, was it fighting qualities which got you to this title more than anything?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I think so, yes. Physically, and mentally, I was really involved in this tournament, especially from quarterfinals on. In that semifinal, I had to fight my way through even though I played during the day, which I didn't experience in the first three matches here. It's quite different for me. But I was really proud of myself, and, you know, I got to the finals and I had nothing to lose then. Nobody is favorite in the final. I think it's a match where everybody has a motivation more to win the title.
Q. Do you think you played well today?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Yes, I played aggressive, and at certain moments, you know, I was, as well, patient, and mixed it up, the pace, which I think David didn't like. He likes --he likes to play the same pace, and he's a very hard-working player. He makes you earn every single point. That's why he is at the top for many years now.
Q. He kept coming back at you, as well, didn't he? Whenever you looked like moving away from him, he fought back. NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Yes, I was a bit fortunate in the last game that he missed that forehand on break ball, because he was returning quite impressive, that game on 5-3. But I stayed with him. I knew that, you know, I have chance on his service games all the time, because I was returning really well, and I just needed to keep my focus on my serve. And it worked well, especially in the last moments in the last point, yeah.
Q. Has something happened to you, the ace?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: No, I don't think so. I don't think it ever happened on a match point. I served an ace but it was called wide and I asked for a challenge.
Q. Is this going to help you for the Davis Cup, even if it's not on hard court? NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, look, it certainly is a little mental advantage I think. But in the other hand, there are a lot of factors which are quite different, including clay court, including competition, as in Davis Cup, which is a team competition, our only team competition there is men's tennis. And there is no expectations there really. It's very unpredictable. Plus, we are playing in their home ground in front of 15,000 fans. So certainly they are favorite. And he is going to be favorite in that match, to be honest, if we play against each other.
Q. How quickly can you get there, Novak? Are you going to try to get out tonight? NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I am getting out tonight back to Serbia for a day, just to do some things, and then I have to be there on Monday. On Monday afternoon, I'm already there. It's a different environment, different surface; I have to get some practice.
Q. Outside of the obvious career highlights of the Australian Open and the Shanghai victory, where does this one rank amongst your successes?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, as you can see, especially after the semifinal win, I took it very emotionally. And I really try to enjoy every single victory I make, because I know, and I'm still young. And as I said, every victory, I have is a special one, because the whole world is playing this sport, and to be No. 3 in the world is a big success. So I just to have been satisfied with what I am doing, but still having the high ambitions. Winning the Grand Slam in my age and a couple of major events, it's quite good, but I think I have a quality to do more.
Q. How would you assess the first two months of this year, for you, and how significant is this title in the context of those first two months?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: It's a very important title. I had not started the year the way I may be wanted it and the way maybe the people expecting me to. I made some major changes; racquet, which was -- which was quite risky at this time. But, look, I take my responsibility and that's what I did, so I just have to move on. And as the season is going on, I feel more comfortable with the racquet and I feel comfortable on the court more. I try to release the pressure that I have and just play the tennis that I played in the first part of the 2008, and if I do so, I think I will be pretty successful.
Q. This is your first tournament victory of 2009, and your next tournament, you're going to be the defending champion at Indian Wells. This must give you some confidence going into that event. NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Certainly. It certainly does. I had to come here to play, get some matches outdoor before going to Indian Wells. I am aware of the fact that I will have a very difficult time, going to Davis Cup, play on clay, which really doesn't go on my favor for Indian Wells. But, look, that's the sport, and representing the country is something special. So playing the Davis Cup, and then hopefully I can get ready for Indian Wells.
Q. Considering that there are a lot of injuries to the top players, do you feel the field is going to be the same?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I'm trying not to think about that, because usually, you know, the people say if you think about negative things, negative things come to you. I try to stay positive and not pay attention too much on the injuries and the schedule; that it's really, really tight and tough for me, and for the other players, of course, who are playing Davis Cup in the next couple of months in Europe on clay. It's never easy physically and mentally. But, you know, I just have to get used to it and try to hold on, stay healthy.
Q. You said that you were getting criticism after the Australian Open, a few days back in the press conference; do you think you are now trying to prove something to everyone?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: No, I am not proving anything to anyone. Believe me, everybody has a right to his own opinion, and everybody has a right to say what they want to say. Of course, there are critics on my game and there are critics on everybody's game. It's not possible that everybody likes you. But I'm just trying to stay focused on the right path and that's it. You know, work hard, and the results will come.
Q. After this win, how far off your top form do you think you now are?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, I've played two great matches, I think today, and in the quarterfinals, as well. Semifinals, really big struggle for me and make it a lot hard, but I think with the fight, I managed to stay in that match and win. But overall, I think it was quite a good tournament for me, which, of course, gives me a lot much confidence for the upcoming events and continuation of the season. I can't actually rate my numbers where I stand now with my form, but certainly, I feel confident and I barely wait for another event.
Q. When you arrived here and Rafa and Roger weren't here, did you think the tournament was yours for the taking? NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, you know, without the first two players in the world, me as a No. 1 favorite, obviously I had a lot of expectations, and Andy Murray, as well. That would be a dream final if he was able to come to the final. But again, saying --I cannot underestimate anybody, and even though there was a lot of pullouts, saying again, I think we had great matches and a great week, and hopefully next year, everything will settle down.
