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THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

July 5, 2018

Novak Djokovic

Wimbledon, London, England

N. DJOKOVIC/H. Zeballos

6-1, 6-2, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. What happened in the third set? You twisted something in your leg?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: It was a bad move during the point. It affected my knee a little bit. Yeah, I felt it all the way to the end of the match basically, last couple games.

I've been doing checkups now. It seems like it's nothing major. Hopefully, you know, tomorrow I'll see on the practice session how it feels. Hopefully it's going to be fine.

Q. Was it a tendon-type injury?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: No, it's not a tendon. When I say 'not major,' if it was major I'd be pulling out from the tournament. What I'm saying is that it's most likely a twitch, you know, in the muscle or something like this that has affected the knee a little bit.

Hopefully it's nothing that will concern me, so to say, that I'll be able to perform.

Q. You've had two pretty straightforward-looking scorelines so far. Have they felt as easy as they looked by way of numbers?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Can't expect me to say it's easy. I respect and I don't underestimate any opponent. Obviously I'm very pleased with the way I played both matches, especially today. I thought my serve was working really well. Playing on grass, obviously having 10-plus aces in a match, it's not a common feeling that I get to experience a lot. It definitely helps in the game itself. It helps me relax in other parts of my game.

I felt I used it as a weapon today, had a lot of free points on the first serve. Yeah, I'm just hoping that I can build from these two matches and keep on going in the right direction.

Q. It was your first time on Court No. 2 for almost 10 years. How did that feel? Does it bother you at all that you weren't on Centre Court or Court 1?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: No, it doesn't bother me. It doesn't bother me actually. I was enjoying it. I've never played on this new Court 2. I played on the old Court 2, that is Court 3 right now. Yeah, long time ago.

It was interesting. I think what was different is the walk to the court. Obviously the crowd, everybody cheering you on, wishing you luck, after the match congratulating you. That was quite special, quite different. I haven't experienced that in a while in Wimbledon.

Q. Yesterday Roger said probably for him footwork and balance are the most important skills that he has that are crucial for playing well on grass. What do you think it is for you that enables you to succeed on grass?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I mean, not to repeat his words, but that's probably what I would say, as well. Balance is everything in our sport. Coordination, hand-eye coordination, leg-hand coordination, trying to find the proper rhythm in the movement, to be able to always get the best possible, so to say, stance before the shot. That's what every tennis player is aiming for, to be able to penetrate the ball, hit the ball in the best possible way.

Of course, you can't always be in a perfect balance, but that's what you're looking for. That's what you get with footwork, rhythm, and balance.

Q. Is that heightened on grass in any way?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Yes, it is. I mean, obviously on grass court matches everything is happening much quicker than on clay or any other surface. That's why it's quite important to be always alert.

Q. When you see Roger play, what do you marvel at the most, not necessarily when he's playing against you, but when you just observe him?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Footwork. Footwork. Footwork, without a doubt. His footwork is quite impressive.

Q. I appreciate it's only a couple hours, but is there any doubt in your mind whether you'll be able to play in the third round?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Excuse me?

Q. Is there any doubt you will be fit enough to play?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I thought I answered that question.

Q. Is there any doubt?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: No.

Q. Jo Konta was in here a couple of days ago joking a little about trying to make you a cake.
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I'm still waiting (smiling).

Q. I wondered how challenging it is for you to stick to your strict diet, what you exclude from your diet? When you're going to other places, how do you cope with that?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I feel it's different now than it was almost 10 years ago. I feel like the awareness about food in general and nutrition is changing. People are paying more attention to what they eat. I think there are more places around the world where you can find appropriate food for people like myself.

But I'm still waiting for that cake. I'm still waiting. She asked me whether, and I said, You can make it with this, without that.

Okay, I got to get the ingredients first and everything.

I know she lost her match now, so I don't know if I'm going to get my cake in Wimbledon. Hopefully in States.

Q. Might be obviously Kyle Edmund that you face in the next round.
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Yes.

Q. Tell us a little bit what you think about his progress. Are you surprised at how far he's coming in such a short space of time?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Ever since he started working with a new coach that I've known for years, because he worked with Mario Ancic and Soderling, he's known as a very good coach, has that professionalism, discipline. I think Kyle and him are a great fit. Kyle is very devoted. He has very good ethics, a hard worker, puts in the hours necessary on the court and in the gym to get himself to best possible shape.

You can see the results are showing that their work is very beneficial for Kyle. He's top-20 player of the world. He's going towards the top 10. He won against me this year in Madrid. He won against Dimitrov. Reached semis of Australian Open. I mean, he certainly has the capacity and the quality to compete at the highest level.

If I get to play him, probably is going to be one of the two big courts. He's a hometown favorite now that Murray is not here. There's a lot of expectations and pressure on his back. But he's handling it pretty well so far.

Q. Back to the scheduling. One of the matches that for me personally I thought was surprising being on Court 1 was Zverev versus Fritz today. Fabio Fognini at the French Open was complaining that the NextGen guys are getting court boosts at major tournaments. He was not very happy with that kind of notion, I won't use his words. Wondering what your thoughts on that is and whether they've earned that right to be playing on Centre or 1 above three-time champions like yourself?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I mean, Fabio is my generation, born '87. Obviously it's hard for him to deal with the fact that he's not young any more (smiling). Maybe we should make our own PresentGen, CurrentGen, or OldGen tour.

Jokes aside, I don't see it as necessarily a wrong, so to say, bad decision from ATP to kind of promote the young players. I mean, the end of the day, I had this conversation with you guys for so many years, we don't have new faces on the tour. It's been the dominance of the four guys. You want to see new players.

Everybody was saying that the time is going to come, so it came. Now we have Zverev, Coric, Thiem that has been around, a couple other players. They deserve the attention. I mean, they're trying to also make them big stars.

I don't necessarily see that as a bad thing. Obviously when you are affected by that, then obviously you might dislike that a little bit. In general, if you see it, it's good for sport. Why not promoting other players than maybe the big four guys that have been dominant on the tour. I think it's pretty good thing.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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