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BARCLAYS ATP WORLD TOUR FINALSNovember 17, 2015Novak DjokovicLondon, England, United Kingdom R. FEDERER/N. Djokovic 7-5, 6-2 An interview with: NOVAK DJOKOVIC THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. It was an excellent performance from Roger. Particularly in the second set you didn't seem to be feeling the ball the way we've come to expect. NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Yeah, you have those days as well when you are not feeling your best, not even close to the best. Credit to Roger for mixing up the pace, giving me always a different ball. He used the slice and spin very wisely. He served very efficiently. I made a lot of, lot of unforced errors. Just handed him the win, especially in the second set. But, again, that's sport. Sometimes these kind of matches, these kind of days happen. The good thing is that it's a round-robin system so I still have an opportunity to reach semis. Q. Elite tennis is about focus and concentration. You were facing breakpoints, approached the net, and Roger's return touched the net, you lost the game, the set and match. Would you say from that point you lost attention? NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I don't think it's because of that point. It's because overall I just wasn't moving well, especially on the first shot in the rallies. When I lost that game 2-3, second set, I had I think three-out-of-five points an easy backhand and forehand. Even when I was hitting, there was no angle. Everything was going around his hitting range. These days happen. These kind of things happen. I have to accept it and hopefully work on it tomorrow and get better next one. Q. Did you feel bad going on the court or was it just in the course of playing you realized the ball wasn't finding the middle of the strings the way it normally does? NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I don't know. I practiced well. Obviously, the opening match couldn't be better and the second match couldn't be worse. Again, as I said, this is all part of the sport. You learn as you go along. I'll take a note. Have to look back, reflect on what I've done wrong this match, get it right for next one. Q. Roger wouldn't give away too much on court about what his tactical plan had been. Were you surprised at how little he actually came forward tonight, playing strongly from the back instead? NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, the court is playing a little bit slower than maybe US Open or Cincinnati, the last couple times we played against each other. I think that's where he felt maybe he can spin the ball and wait for a shorter ball from my side and come in, which he did. He tactically played well. Undoubtedly, he was the better player on the court. But I think I also allowed him to play and penetrate through the ball and dictate the tempo from the baseline. As I said, I didn't have this follow-through on my shots, no depth honestly, many mistakes. Basically if you play this way against Roger, you have no chance. I was hoping that when I broke back in the second, I'm going to start playing better, but it just wasn't to be today. Q. You've had streaks like this before. So how does a result like today's affect you mentally? Does it help you get up or does it affect you negatively? NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, of course you never want to lose as an athlete. You're not coming to these matches and these tournaments to lose, you're coming to win. Of course, as I said before, I need to now reflect on the things I've done wrong tonight, why this happened, and keep moving forward, as I said. This is the last week of the year. Obviously it's been a long season. But I need to push myself mentally, physically, emotionally as far as I can basically in this tournament. I have another group stage match and I need to win it to get through. Q. I'm sure this didn't have any impact whatsoever in the match, but I think this is the second time this has happened to you when you're playing Roger. Were you aware he took the wrong bench when you came out onto court? NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Yeah, I saw that. But I think you're not advised as a player when you come onto the court which bench you should take. It's completely your choice. I don't think that was his tactical approach (smiling), mess around before we even hit the first ball. I don't think that was on his mind. You can ask him, but I don't think so. Q. When you've been playing at such a consistently high level for so many weeks, months, then you have a day like this, is it actually easier to sit down and analyze and pick it apart or is it more useful to throw it away and put it in the garbage can? NOVAK DJOKOVIC: In a way I want to forget about it, the way I felt and played. But, again, the day that I have between the two matches will allow me to reflect on this match with my team, work on things that didn't go the way I wanted them to go. So it's a little bit of both, I would say. Q. All players have down days. Are there any specific reasons why there are down days? NOVAK DJOKOVIC: You're playing sports. It's normal to have a down day. There is no specific reason. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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