[인터뷰] 호주오픈 (R3~QF)
Q. Was that the best performance you've put up in the tournament so far?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Probably was, yeah, out of three matches. But, yet I don't think my opponent played on the level that he could. He was helping me out with a lot of unforced errors, and basically we didn't have a lot have long rallies.
So, you know, I just needed to be consistent and try not to -- - you know, try to maintain the focus and get it over with as soon as possible. So that's what I did.
Q. It seems it's gonna be a replay of the Belgrade final against Kubot.
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Yeah definitely we talked about it in the locker room. Yeah, he's a good player, singles player, and doubles as well. I think he's playing best tennis of his life in the last year or so.
So it's -- for him, going to the fourth round, even though he got a walkover today, it's still a great result. He's a quality player. I had a tough match against him in finals, actually.
He's very aggressive and I know his style of the game. I'm gonna do everything to prepare well.
Q. You chose not to play in a ranking tournament before coming in here. What was the thinking behind that?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, it was one of the main reasons is because I've played almost hundred matches last year, and it was -- I got fed up, to be honest, with tournaments and matches. I didn't have a lot of time really to recover and just to relax like most of the top players.
I already started preparing, so I -- first of all, I wasn't -- tennis-wise I wasn't ready for those tournaments, so I didn't want to go there to play one or two matches. Didn't make any sense.
So I just decided to come here earlier, ten days before the Australian Open starts, and put in some intensive workout. That's what I did.
Q. Do you feel fresh now?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I do. Actually, I do. I think this workout is paying off.
Q. The top players say you like to work into a tournament. How much of a game like that today will actually help you?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I think at some stage in the tournament you want to have a straight-sets win, an easy win, so you can get fast off the court and try to save all the energy as much as you can for the upcoming challenges, which are obviously gonna be more difficult.
So it was good to have the match like this.
Q. You seem to have a slightly perhaps lower profile here this year than last year. Are you enjoying that more than usual?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Yeah, look, I think there is many other players that you can talk about that are playing well. I think the player who's a little bit undertalked is Davydenko. He's playing the best tennis of his life. He's on the roll and he's definitely one of the players that can win the title this year.
Besides him, of course Federer, Nadal, Murray, Del Potro. I think it's very exciting for the fans as well to follow the men's part of the draw and just wait and see who's gonna win the title.
Q. Has the locker room respect for Davydenko grown over the past couple months?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: In my own opinion, I don't look at him in a different way. I always had the respect for him because I always was aware of his quality as a player. He's an incredible fighter.
As I said, he was one of the players that was kind of underestimated in the last five years. He's already five years in a row in the top 10, top 5 in the world were you got to give him credit for that. Basically 80, 90% of tournaments he's reaching quarters. That proves his quality.
Lately he just stepped it up. I think he feels it as well. He feels that he can beat anyone now.
Q. Are you kind of just quitely excited about looking forward to next week? Would that be a proper descriptor?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, I am excited. Of course I look forward to it. It's a big challenge for all of us. Most of the top players are still in the draw.
As I said, it's gonna be very exciting interesting for us and for the fans to see who's gonna go all the way through.
Q. It appeared a very straightforward match. Was it on the court?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, it's the fourth round. I knew that from a seeded players, if you, you know, if you look at the draw, I probably had, you know, the best possible draw at the moment.
But I didn't want to underestimate my opponent absolutely, because I've played him the finals of Belgrade, Serbia Open last year. I knew that he's a tough opponent to play against. So I just went to the court willing to play my best from the start.
I think the first two sets I was very dominant on the court, then he lifted up his level of the game a little bit. That's why we had a longer third set. In general, I was very happy with the way I performed today.
Q. Any particular part of your game that you're happy with?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I think serve was much consistent today, much more. And I better serve percentage of the first serves.
I got more free points there, which gave me a lot of advantage.
Q. Would you have preferred to play a seeded player to give you more push and preparation into the quarters?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, it doesn't -- didn't really matter, you know. If the player comes -- if he's seeded or unseeded, if he comes to the second week of play, he must be a quality player. It's a Grand Slam, you know. To reach last 16, last 8, it's not a piece of cake.
Whoever I play next round it's gonna be a tough opponent. I'm aware the matches will get more difficult throughout this week. So I'm ready for it. Physically I've been putting in a lot of work and intensity into the practice. It's paying off right now. I feel great.
Q. Australian Open is first Grand Slam of the year and of course very important to prepare well. What do you think about this so far and how important is it for you to do well in the Australian Open?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, it's the most important tournament of this part of the year for all of us. I didn't have an official match before I started Australian Open, so the opening rounds were quite challenging for me. One of the reasons is obviously that I haven't got any matches for a month and a half.
So I'm happy with the way things are going. Surface is quite suitable to my game. I won this tournament two years ago, so I just look forward to the upcoming challenges. I'm ready to give my 100% and try to get a step further.
Q. So like last year, you had feet problems. Did you do something particular for preparing this season?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, last year was specific. I think it was quite different than all the others because I had made some radical changes. I changed the racquet and I faced the role of defending champion for the first time in my career at a Grand Slam.
There were a lot of side factors. I think my game wasn't really feeling great throughout the 2009 Australian Open. This year is absolutely something else. I just feel very confident playing.
Q. You will play Almagro or Tsonga next. Can speak a little bit of those?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I haven't played Almagro for a long time. I can't really remember last time we played.
But, you know, he's a big hitter and he has a good serve and strong forehand. He's a clay court specialist but still can play really well on hardcourts. This hardcourt is a bit slower than the others, so that's where he has his chance.
On the other side, I played Jo many, many times in the last two years. Probably the biggest match that we played was finals here two years ago. He's improved so much, and he's a top 10 player. Just has a big tournaments behind him. He has been winning the big matches and knows what it feels like to be on a big stage.
So absolutely it's gonna be very difficult for either of us to play against.
Q. If you face Jo, what do you have to focus on especially?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, you know, Jo can beat anyone if he's really on the roll and if he starts hitting the ball well. I just to have keep pressuring him and just apply my style of the game, not allow him to control the match.
Q. You had a great season last year, but didn't do so well at the Grand Slams. Did it bother you to have such a wonderful season but not build on your first Grand Slam in 2008?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: In a way I was expecting a lot, especially from Roland Garros in 2009, because I had the best year on clay courts by far.
But, you know, these things happen. I could have done a bit better in the Grand Slams. I agree on that. Probably that was one of the reasons that I didn't get the step further in the rankings.
But, you know, I will prioritize Grand Slams and try to set up the best possible form for these tournaments.
Q. What do you mean by prioritize?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Just as I said, I want to try to set up the best possible form and game for Grand Slams. That's where I want to make the best impact, best result.
Q. Does that mean shortening your schedule a little bit more?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: It's really hard to shorten the schedule at this moment. We have a lot of commitment events. You got to show up at, you know, 17, 18 tournaments a year, plus Davis Cup. So the season is not gonna be much shorter than the one in 2009.
There are certain things you can do in order to perform better in Grand Slams.
Q. What was the problem with your health?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, first, I would like to congratulate Jo. He played a great match. Deserved to win.
It was unfortunate that I couldn't perform on the level that I wanted to in the fourth and fifth set. I don't want to find excuses for my loss, but, you know, I went to vomit and I had diarrhea before the match. Just a terrible feeling.
You know, it's been a great tournament for me, so it's just a bad way to -- not to be able physically go through the whole match.
Q. Was it something you ate?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: It was the same routine like every day. I mean, I just didn't eat some kind of shrimps or something. It was pasta.
Maybe. I really don't know. It's too bad.
Q. Did you have any memories of last year here when you had to withdraw from the match?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: No. No. No.
Q. When did you start feeling ill?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I had a little problems with the stomach even before the match as I said. No, the big deal I started feeling after third set when I just -- I couldn't hold on.
After two games I had to go to the toilet. There was no way, otherwise I would throw up on the court. That's when I had to do it.
Q. Are you injured in your legs or something like that?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: No. Well, look, when you lose a lot of fluids and your engine a bit stop working, that's how I felt. Very bad with my legs in the fourth, and especially in the fifth set. I wasn't able to run him down at the baseline, and that was the major problem. You know, he was serving well and just got confidence boost to be aggressive.
It was unfortunate.
Q. How did you think he'll go against Roger Federer?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I don't know and I don't care.
Q. You still were playing some great points in the fourth and fifth sets, some great rallies. What would you put your level at in that fourth and fifth set?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: As I said, I wasn't able -- wasn't able to move. I wasn't able to physically try to involve myself into the strokes. That was -- so you couldn't really -- I couldn't really judge my game in the fourth and fifth set.
It was more like, Okay, let's stay on the court and hope he'll make a mistake. That was more or less the philosophy.
I think overall, the whole tournament I played well, even today, you know, it's a good tennis. A bit disappointed for the loss because I thought I could win today with my game.
But life goes on. It's just the start of the season.
Q. Did you think to give up?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: No, no. I wasn't thinking.
Q. You will be No. 2 if Murray doesn't win the tournament. Is it important for you?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, for me it was important to get as far in the tournament as possible, you know. I had a high ambitions here because I felt well and played well and just feeling confident on the court, and then this happens. This is the most disappointing thing.
I wasn't thinking about rankings. If it happens it's great. It's something that I wait for many years already. But, you know, definitely I have to deserve it.