[인터뷰] 신시내티 : 조코비치

※ [Preview] 7월 28일 월요일 VIDEO

※ [Round2] 7월 30일 수요일, N. DJOKOVIC/S. Bolelli 7-6, 7-6 (VIDEO)

Q. There's lots of talk about the No. 1 position between Federer and Nadal. After the beginning of the year we thought you would be mixing up. Where is your position right now?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: No. 3.

Q. Yes, but are you looking...
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: No. I mean, I'm not looking to anything. I'm just trying to focus on my game, on my career, and my matches. That's my priority. I just want to improve.
I know there is still a lot of room for improvement in my game, so this is a positive fact actually for the future.
I'm only 21. I don't want to put an extra pressure. I have enough pressure and expectations of being a favorite in most matches I get in. So thinking about No. 2 or No. 1 spot in the world, in rankings, or race, or whatever, would create an extra amount of pressure, which I don't need in this moment.

Q. And we are now back on hard courts. That's where you won, on the same surface you won the Australian. Is it that you're at the beginning of your favorite surface?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Yeah, it is. I mean, I had great results in the last year and a half in hard courts, with are my most preferred surface and the surface where I feel most comfortable. It suits to my game.
But, again, not every hard court is the same. Last week Toronto's courts were quite different than the ones here in Cincinnati, and conditions.
So it takes time. Maybe the first match today I haven't played maybe the way I was supposed to. Certainly I wasn't playing on my highest level.
But as I said, it takes a match and couple of days to just adjust to the conditions. So hopefully I can continue the run here and prepare well for Olympics and US Open, which are, I think, two priority events in the summer.

Q. Do you think you can use the talk with Roger and Raf this week and the No. 1 ranking to your advantage in some way, kind of fly under the radar and take some pressure off?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Again, I'm not thinking about them and their rivalry. I'm just trying to focus on my career. This is what I did until now, and this is what I will do. Of course you always feel the pressure. That's part of the sport. Pressure is a part of the sport, but it's a challenge for everyone to cope with it.

Q. Given Nadal's success, do you view them as almost co-No.1s right now? Nadal could pass him soon. Are they almost equal at that point?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Again, no, I mean, they're both great players. Nadal is still No. 2 and Federer is still number 1. Nadal is playing the best tennis this year, there is no doubt. But Roger is still at the top.
It could happen this week and it could happen in a year or two or three. You never know. It's very unpredictable.

Q. What's your assessment of how you played today?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I just said I didn't play on my top level. I had ups and downs with the serve, which I really need to try to be as consistent as I can and to have a high percentage of the first serve.
It's important in the matches like this and tournaments like this. This is what actually I didn't do well in Toronto's quarterfinal. I didn't serve well, and that causes a negative outcome and a loss against Murray.
Still, I feel okay. Physically I'm there, even though in the last couple of weeks I wasn't - since Wimbledon - really performing well. But it's all part of the sport. You got to have your downs as well, because I had the best six months of my career. I'm slowly coming back.

Q. You talked about the serve in Toronto. I think you saved 12 break points and you still managed to win the match, but how worried are you about the serve?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, I'm trying not to be worried too much. The fact is that it's troubling me in the present, and this is something that I was working on in the last couple of days. This is something that I will work on in the next couple of weeks, you know, so I can get it right.

Q. Something technical, or what do you think?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, it's a matter of, I think, just confidence in one side. There are a lot of details: ball toss, just technical explosivity (sic) of the movements, all kinds of stuff. It all comes from the head. Mentally you just have to be relaxed and calm in that moment, just be focused, and this is what I don't do in some moments.

Q. You said in Wimbledon after the loss to Marat that mentally you felt a bit jaded. How do you feel now?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I feel better. I feel like I worked hard since I lost that match against Marat. I was trying to set up my shape for the hard court season, which is obviously my favorite one. I had great success last year.
And then Olympics coming up, this is an event which I really look forward to. It's all on hard court, so I think I have good chances to be one of the most successful players.

Q. We heard Roger talk about how important the Olympics are to him. How would you rate the Olympics in comparison to, say, a Grand Slam event?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, I got that a lot this year, if I could compare a win in Wimbledon or any Grand Slam with a win in Olympics.
It's difficult, but I can say that both have special meaning. For me, Olympics is something that, in my opinion, as a professional sportist I cannot miss.
This is an event which you have every four years, and who knows what is going to happen in four years. So I'll be very privileged just to be a part of the fantastic event and be surrounded with the best professional athletes from all over the world. Whatever I do there I will feel great.

※ [Round3] 7월 31일 목요일, N. DJOKOVIC/A. Seppi 6-1, 6-2 (VIDEO)

Q. In terms of playing Gulbis next, he certainly seems to be playing well right now. How would you assess that match?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: We know each other for a long time. As I was saying before, I've practiced with him for a couple of years in Germany in tennis academy of Niki Pilic.
Back then I, you know, I noticed his great talent for the game. He was always kind of tall for his age and strong and he was also hitting these powerful shots.
It was a matter of time when he was going to make this breakthrough and just gain the experience with the time. Obviously he's showing his quality now and he's one of the young rising stars that we expect to see more in the future.
We played one match in Roland Garros, and it wasn't an easy one even though, it's not his favorite surface. This is where I think he feels best and where he feels most comfortable.
On the other side, I do feel great here as well. We're going to see an interesting match.

Q. And with an easy game like this, I think we can say it was easy because of the scores, and it gives you a lot of confidence now?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, it does. You know, after the tough two-tiebreak, second-round match, I managed to really get through, as you could see, with an easy score.
But, again, nothing is easy. You get to the court and you just want to give 100% whoever you play against and just try to be consistent with the game and focused all the way through.
This is what I did today. I didn't want to let anything slip out of my hand, so I'm happy with the way performed.

Q. We talked your serve yesterday. Today it was around 56%. How did you feel you served today?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Again, I had ups and downs, but less than yesterday. Today I felt more consistent with the serve. I felt that I was more precise, and that I managed to open up a second shot, which was pretty easy for me in the game.
So it's quite important, you know, to serve well, to have a good percentage and good precision. In that way you put the pressure on your opponent.

Q. He had a pretty good clay court season and he's known as a pretty good baseliner. Did you feel he was off today?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Yeah, he was off. I spoke to him afterwards and he said he had troubles with his back and he couldn't serve. I mean, he was making some double faults in important moments in breakpoints, so he couldn't really put any pressure with his serve.
It was obviously frustrating for him, so that caused tons of unforced errors from the baseline.

Q. Yesterday you mentioned that when you're not serving well it comes from your mind. I'd like to know if you have any special technique to work on mind? How do you work on mind?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, you know, it's probably all about practice and your focus from the start. Everybody has bad days.
But as I said, and I'm confirming again, it all comes from the mental obviously ability to stay concentrated as long as you can.
So we are all working on that. It's not easy because you're playing week after week very strong tournaments, difficult matches, and you're playing against the top players in the world.
It's never easy to say that you can serve always good, so obviously I was focused more than I did yesterday.

Q. But what kind of extra subjects really affect you?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: What kind of extra subjects on what? Effects on what?

Q. Like maybe politics in your country or...
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: No. I'm not thinking about that, no. Politics are not in my mind, no. Believe me.

※ [8강] 8월 1일 금요일, N. DJOKOVIC/E. Gulbis 6-3, 6-4

Q. What was the story of the match?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I think you saw it, right? Did you?

Q. I was there.
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: So you know the story.

Q. I was curious what you thought the story was.
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, I thought that I was serving much better, and day after day I'm getting stronger in the segment of my game which is really important coming up to the final stages of the tournament.
Powerful hitter, Gulbis, very talented, but playing more or less with the same pace. I needed to calm him down and wait for my chances, which I did.

Q. If you play Nadal tomorrow, does it make a difference if you face him on a hard court or a clay court or a grass court?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, it does make a difference. One thins is for sure: He really does always give his 100% on every match he plays and any surface and against any player he plays. There's a lot at stake for him tonight, and he obviously wants to win.
This match is his probably biggest match of his career, to be the No. 1 player of the world. But even if he goes through he won't stop. We all know that. He's a great competitor, and I have a lot of respect for him. Obviously he's on a run. He didn't feel the sense to lose a match for a long time, so obviously he's very confident on any surface he plays. He proved that he can play equally well on any surface he plays on.
So if I get to play him tomorrow it's going to be a challenge, but I'll accept it.

Q. What do you think is the biggest difference surface to surface against him?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, I mean, you have difference. I mean, of course. Looking the way he plays on clay, you think that he's unbeatable, you know, because he's just very, very dominant on that surface and he just feels his best and he feels very comfortable on that surface.
It's slow, which goes in his favor, because physically he's the strongest man on the tour. Mentally as well. So he likes playing long matches and long points. That's where he's the best.
Hard courts are bit more difficult for him because of the movement. You can't slide that much and the ball bounces in a different way. Here it's pretty fast, which can go in my favor tomorrow. But, again, he's playing great tennis even on this tournament, and obviously he's very motivated.

Q. Is it surprising, because he's never really done well here, he wins Toronto...
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I didn't do well here as well.

Q. But is it surprising that he's done so well on hard courts?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Not really. Not really. I think it was a matter of a tournament and a year or season or whatever when he's going to start to play better and better on hard courts, because he has all the things that he needs to play well on any surface.
He's proven that he's even this year the best player on grass. I mean, even though if you look at his style of the game you don't think that he might do really well on that surface which is the fastest in the sport, he obviously does really well. Winning that Wimbledon and French Open, he won more or less all the title that really matter this year.

Q. Does it matter to you who is No. 1? The whole story has captivated the fan's attention.
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: No.

Q. Do you kind of feel like maybe you're the forgotten man? So much focus on No. 1 and 2, but you're still No. 3.
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: No.

Q. Is it true that you and Gulbis played in the juniors a lot against each other?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: No.

Q. You never played him in the juniors?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I practice with him in the academy.

Q. You went to the same academy in Germany?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Yes, we did. We know each other for five or six years. We practice for two, three years with the same coach in the same academy, so I know him for a long time. He's a good guy. He's a rising star.
Obviously he has a lot of potential to be a top 10 player of the world, no doubt. But still he has some things to work on.

Q. I think people are curious to get to know him a little bit better. Do you have any stories or can you share anything from your days at the academy?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: You should ask him.

※ [4강] 8월 2일 토요일, N. DJOKOVIC/R. Nadal 6-1, 7-5 (VIDEO)

Q. How do you feel being the first to beat the new No. 1?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, nobody is unbeatable, obviously, but the way he was playing we all thought that he's not going to lose any time soon.
But, you know, I just tried not to think about his winning streak and his new ranking spot. Not official still.
But, you know, I tried just to focus on my game. I won against him three times before on this surface, and I know what it takes to win against him on hard courts. I got the best out of it in last couple of matches we played in this surface.
I knew that I have to step in and be aggressive and take the chances that have been given me, so that what's did.

Q. I'm sure it wasn't easy in the first set, but it seemed like you knew exactly what you wanted to do and your shots was hitting the lines.
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Yeah, was probably caught a little bit surprise. You know, he didn't expect such a fast start from my side. That was my intention, you know, just try to step in and go for the shots.
I didn't want to be in the long rallies with him, because that's how he wins the points. He's physically a very well-prepared player. As soon as you get to the longer rallies with him he gets the momentum going and he gets the rhythm, and so it could go either way in the second set.
He had a breakpoint. It was a pretty long rally and I managed to stay in it.

Q. Does it give you the feeling that maybe now you're going to start to get back to somewhere near your best?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, I think tonight I was, if not my best, then very, very near my best. I mean, I was playing great tennis and everything that I imagined to do against Rafa. So hopefully I can, you know, be as consistent as today again tomorrow.

Q. First of all, was the first set too easy in light of did you expect him to play better in the second set? I mean, it looked like two different matches.
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Yeah, well, after such an easy first set result-wise, obviously a player like Nadal comes back and tries something else. I knew that, so I just tried to stay with him and hold my service games comfortably.
It's a fast surface, so it was really not easy to return here. He was struggling with my serves. When I needed to serve out well I did, so that was quite important.

Q. Do you think you had the edge physically? Do you think he was maybe more tired than you were today?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, I don't know. Maybe. He's going to tell you better if he's tired or not. But as I said, I was trying to focus on myself, not on him, and just play what I imagined to play.

Q. Seems like to stay with you on this surface he has to play a little bit outside of his comfort level. Is that gives you confidence, or do you feel that out there?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, if you say so, that he has to get out of his comfort zone. But I think he's obviously one the best players on this surface still. He's been proving that this year playing finals of Miami, semis of Australian Open, Indian Wells, and won Toronto and here semis again.
He's been very consist. He was losing most of the matches on this surface, but yet again, he was always in the final stages of the tournaments.
He's a player that you really have to play your best to win against. That's it. And I did my best tonight and I won.

Q. What do you have to do tomorrow against Andy Murray to win the title?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Just have to play the way I played tonight and the way I play always on hard courts. I made a mistake last time I played with him in Toronto. I was letting go of my chances and he was in the control of the match more. He was going for the shots. He was playing wisely, you know, and obviously he learned something from our past matches.
So I know what I did wrong. Hopefully I can turn it in a positive matter for me tomorrow.

Q. In the first set you earned 25 points; Rafa only 11. Have you ever played better tennis against him?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I don't know. I mean, really, I played in Indian Wells this year I think if not equally then very, very close performance as well as this one in Indian Wells and Miami as well last year.
So obviously the best tennis and the most chances I have against him is on this surface, so this is what gives me a lot of confidence.

Q. You've said that hard courts are your favorite surface. After Wimbledon and last week in Toronto, even the beginning of the week here, how big that was win for your confidence?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, I was slowly, slowly getting the momentum. I was saying after each match that I was feeling better and better, so I can confirm that even now. My form is rising and I feel that I'm on my best now.
I just need to try to keep that and keep that going even for tomorrow's final.

Q. What has been the secret about achieving that? Just getting better rested or getting better in the mental shape?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: All combined. Everything is combined. This is individual sport, and it requires a lot of time on the court and off the court as well. A lot of dedication physically and mentally.
But, you know, I have all the strokes I need, and I know that I'm more or less complete player. It's just a matter of mental, you know, ability and confidence. If I feel good in that moment.
So now I feel great, and hopefully I can feel that as well tomorrow.

※ [결승] 8월 3일 일요일, A. MURRAY/N. Djokovic 7-6, 7-6

Q. At 2-2 in the second set, did you ask your coach what time it was?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: No.

Q. What did you ask, if you don't mind?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Can't tell you.

Q. Was fatigue a factor out there today?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: A little bit, yeah. I finished late last night, so could make it a factor.

Q. You twisted your ankle in the second set. How much did that affect you?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I was thinking a little bit about it, but it wasn't that bad. It was more the heat and started from that.

Q. Obviously you were really good yesterday. Did you feel a little bit more off today, not quite as good?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, yes. It's different when you play against an opponent who plays a similar game with you. You know, he was making me do a lot unforced errors. It's a fast court, but Nadal plays high balls which are suitable to my forehand.
But he was playing a lot of slice and changing pace to my forehand. I just lost the rhythm.

Q. How did you think you returned today?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, overall, I wasn't really happy with the way I played today. I could have played better. I had some chances.