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ROLAND GARROS

June 2, 2016

Novak Djokovic

Paris, France

N. DJOKOVIC/T. Berdych

6-3, 7-5, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Questions in English.

Q. Do you have enough time to enjoy the fact you're in the semifinals or are you already thinking about tomorrow?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: The way that the schedule has been going on in the second week is not much time to really, you know, reflect on what you have done. Getting into semifinals, of course I'm very pleased to be in semifinals of another Grand Slam.

But because the fact that I have to play every day, you know, my focus right away goes for recovery and next match. I don't have much time, really.

Q. So as far as the schedule is going forward, if you had to choose, you'd like the semifinal tomorrow, on Friday, and the final on Sunday, or have a day off, Saturday semi, Monday final is the other option?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: No. I mean, for now it's fine playing tomorrow and, you know, potentially having I think finals on Sunday. Let's see.

I mean, ladies also have to play quarterfinals, semifinals, finals, day after day. I don't know what is going to happen there.

Q. Touching a little bit out of tennis, the Euro Cup is next week. Do you have a favorite? Who is your favorite to win it all?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, Serbia is not participating in it so I don't have a real favorite because my country is not there. But I'm going to support a good football. I'm going to enjoy it.

But I'm not going to be as passionate as I would if my country was playing.

Q. What do you think about the standing of this Grand Slam because the rain, the fact there is no rooftop, the fact that there are a very lot people in small places and things like this in regards to the other tournaments?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, I have heard some of the biggest reasons why they still don't have even lights at this tournament, and roof, as well, is they are facing a lot of difficulty with residential buildings around.

If you take in consideration the locations of all four Grand Slams, I think Paris has most challenging, you know, position in terms of dealing with residents around.

It's definitely not easy. I'm sure that they already heard it million times, you know, that we need roof, that we need lights. You know, you could see a lot of improvement with facilities this year with Jean Bouin and National Tennis Center is amazing.

They are trying to do whatever they can do within the regulations, and I'm just hoping that for sake of this tournament and all the players that we are going to have that roof at least on the one court, you know, as soon as possible.

But I also understand the other part, because I talked with some people and I understand that it's not only their decision whether or not they want to do it.

Q. When your racquet slipped out of your hand what were you trying to do? Do you realize how close to came to hitting the line judge?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I mean, it's obvious what I tried to do. I don't understand your question. I threw a racquet on the ground and it slipped and almost hit the line umpire. I was lucky there. That's all.

Q. You're lucky he moved, weren't you?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Yeah, I'm lucky. Great.

Q. Do you think the English word, dropshot, was created because the rain or for what reason?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: First of all, I love your questions and I love the way you ask questions. (Laughter.)

Especially in these conditions it's good to have this shot in your game. That's all I can say. Particularly when I play a player like Tomas that, you know, is not as great of a mover maybe as somebody else around the court, forward/backwards, and so I tried to expose his movement and his weaknesses.

When the court is wet, when the conditions are slow, of course it does work better than when it's not.

Q. I'd like to know if, when you were a kid - you were thinking of course of becoming a champion, winning Wimbledon, Paris, and so on - if you ever thought that you could have make 100 million just in prize money? Is that something shocking or that you were more or less used already three, four, five years ago?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I was talking with the Serbian media about that yesterday. Believe it or not, I never thought of prize money being one of the sources of my motivation and inspiration to play tennis.

It's no different today. Of course the money helps me have certain standard of life and lifestyle, you know. But that's how I solely look at the money, as a way to live a certain standard of life. But that's all.

It never was and is never going to be the drive force in my life and in my career.

Q. Thiem just won against Goffin. He's in great shape right now. How do you see your match going with him?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Yeah, he is. He's one of the leaders of the new generation. I'm sure he's very motivated to show himself and others that he deserves to be at the top and compete for biggest titles.

He's playing the best tennis of his life, no doubt about it. The results are showing that. He's been playing a lot, you know, this year, practically every week since February/March. You know, he's been keeping fit, as well, which is quite amazing for somebody that doesn't have that kind of -- that haven't had that kind of scheduling before in his career.

He's played a lot of matches, especially on clay, which is his favorite surface. Yeah, he plays with a lot of speed, with a lot of power. I'm sure he's going to give it all in semis. But I have something to fight for, as well. It's going to be a good one.

Q. Obviously with the racquet thing you clearly are not trying to hurt anybody. I think a similar thing happened in the Rome final, as well. Does it worry you that one day, just by virtue of bad luck or the bounce, that you could really jeopardize your chances at one of these events?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I'm just not thinking about those kind of situations. I'm trying not worry about it at all. I am aware that I have been lucky, and I apologized to, you know, to people that have been in this particular situation with me and that could have been hurt by my racquet.

But, you know, it was never the intention. It was just some unfortunate bounce, but fortunate ending of that scenario. That's all I can say.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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