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SHANGHAI ROLEX MASTERSOctober 10, 2014Novak DjokovicSHANGHAI, CHINA N. DJOKOVIC/D. Ferrer THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. How did you think you played today? A little bit of a tough time serving out the first set, but otherwise do you feel good about it? NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Satisfied with the performance. The 10th game of the first set was crucial. It was crucial to serve the first set out. Obviously was a huge relief because it was very physical, especially towards the end of the first set. He started missing less and making some shots, so it made it a little bit more difficult. But I served well in important moments. Second set was pretty good. Q. I have seen in many victories you sign on the camera writing words in Chinese. What is the meaning of that? NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, the Chinese fans here are very kind to me and they teach me new characters. This is the character for this week, which means happiness and good luck. Q. Your streak in China, is it something that you think about, or is it something that is made up to be a streak that we write about? Is it illusory or something you think about? NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Honestly, I don't think about it too much. I do always carry the nice, obviously, memories wherever I go from China because of the last few years that I've been playing so well. I always look forward coming back here because I know I feel good here. I do feel lots of support that obviously gives me a lot of energy and allows me to play my best tennis. So streak is just an additional motivation, let's say, to keep on going. Q. Roger is ahead in his match right now. Assuming he wins, could you talk a little bit about your rivalry this year. This year you have split your matches. Why do you think this year you've been so closely matched? And playing in China, do you feel you have some kind of a psychological edge given your recent success here? NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, not like he didn't have a lot of success anywhere he went, including China. So I don't think that will play too much to my advantage. But, look, Roger is one of the best players ever in the game. He loves playing big matches. He knows how to play here. He has also big support. It's just a big challenge. There is no clear favorite. I think every time we play against each other, it's a thriller. It's really a big challenge for both of us. We need to take the best out of us. We need to bring our A game in order to win. Q. A question about the World Tour Finals. There will be a decision I think in March or April about where it will be held next. There's a lot of talk that maybe it will stay in London. Do you think it should stay in London or do you think it's important to take the tournament around the world? NOVAK DJOKOVIC: The World Tour Finals in London have been a great success. No doubt why people are considering to keep it there. But I think we should change. We should take this tournament, which is the biggest event that the ATP World Tour has, we should promote it somewhere else. We should allow other cities to have the opportunity to see the best eight players. Q. The likes of you, Roger, Rafa, we hope Andy, you're all Europeans. If that tournament were changed to somewhere like South America or back here into the Far East after you played Bercy, would that present a problem for you guys? NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, right now the way the schedule is, you have a week between Paris and World Tour Finals, so I don't think it would be too much of a problem.  You would have time to get used to whatever conditions or surface you would have. You mentioned South America. I think anywhere in South America would be a huge success. There will be a lot of interest in the tournament, including America, that has a long tennis tradition. Anywhere in Europe really. I mean, it's not like it works only in London or Paris or so forth. There are so many different markets, so many different cities around the world that want this tournament. I mean, who wouldn't like to see the best eight, elite eight players in the world? Nothing against London. In contrary, as I said before, it's an amazing success, amazing attendance. It speaks about the tradition of tennis that is nurtured in London because of Wimbledon because of the tennis tournaments that have been held there. Tennis is one of the most famous sports in England for so long, over a hundred years. That's why it's a success there. That's why ATP is considering keeping it there. In my opinion ‑ I'm not the one who decides ‑ but I hope it moves somewhere else because it will be good for the sport. Q. I know you've beaten Rafa on clay, but is hard court the fairest surface? NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, hard court is the most common surface we have in the sport at the moment. Because of different factors, for example, the fact that we play last three, four, five months on that surface, outdoor and indoor, it's logical to expect we would have the Masters Cup, World Tour Finals, played on the same surface, right? I think that's fair for all the players because of the surface from the previous tournaments. But, again, it's all on the table. It's all for conversation. We'll see how it goes. I know Rafa wants the clay. It's obvious. I don't blame him. But then we have to hear what other players say and we see. There is still time to talk about it. Q. Every time you come to China, you write down different words in Chinese. How many Chinese letters can you write? Do you remember them? NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I know how to write the nickname, love, fun. A couple of nice characters. Let's say five. Five out of five thousand is still not too much, but I keep working on that. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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