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QATAR EXXONMOBIL OPENJanuary 2, 2019Novak DjokovicDoha, Qatar THE MODERATOR: English, please. Q. Hi, Novak. You want to be number one in doubles as well? NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Sure, why not. (Novak smiles). Q. How important is it to face and win the matches like today where you lose the first set and you are coming back? NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Long matches today, both singles and doubles, and I spent quite a bit of time on the court but I'm happy I managed to get two wins. He was a better player for two sets and no doubt I managed to break his resistance, I would say, towards the end of the second set. And I got lucky obviously in the set point which to have that challenge on my side and that has kind of been a turning point in the third set. I just think he dropped his level a little bit and I managed to get on top of him. Q. Did you expect such a difficult game today against Marton? NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Considering conditions that are quite slow and the balls are getting quite fluffy and big, I was - I knew his qualities and especially in the slower conditions, so I did expect that it was going to be a match with a lot of rallies and very physical and that has proven to be the case. Of course, he did surprise me, you know, with his level. It was very high throughout the two sets. I must say that he - he was the one that was dictating the play. He was really great in defense. A very good serve, you know, had great tactics and he managed to get very close to the win. Q. Last week you were with Rafa in an exhibition. Today it was known he has pulled out of Brisbane. The Australian Open is coming up next. Your thoughts about the retirement in Brisbane? NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I mean, he's the only one that really knows how he feels, you know. He has done the comebacks for so many times in his career that you always believe that he can do it again. I have known him obviously over the years, mostly on the court, and he's a great competitor and great champion as a person and as an athlete. He has very physical style of tennis which obviously is putting a lot of load and pressure on his joints, on his knees. I'm sure that he and his team are doing everything they possibly can so he can start to compete again. Sport needs Rafa, no question about it. He is one of the greatest legends of all time and we want to see him play. Q. You will play Basilashvili tomorrow. He had a great tournament last year. How will you play against him? NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I think he plays quite similar to Fucsovics except he hits the ball harder, faster. He is in great form in the last four or five months. He won against Del Potro in the finals of Beijing. He's working with a very successful coach. I think he helped to improve his game. And I played him earlier this year in Rome, last year in Rome, and it was a close two-set match on clay. Obviously different conditions now, a bit slower. I mean, it's going to be slow, hard-court conditions. We're going to play third match which is late at night and I expect another battle, you know. He moves well. As soon as he has a short ball, both backhand and forehand, he is hitting flat and making a lot of winners and so you have to be constantly on alert with him. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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