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INTERNAZIONALI BNL D'ITALIA

May 16, 2019

Novak Djokovic

Rome, Italy

N. DJOKOVIC/P. Kohlschreiber

6-3, 6-0

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. How long were those couple of days? How did you manage to keep the mind clear? You played two fantastic matches today.
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Yeah, I have. I'm very pleased with the way the day went for me. Actually I like the fact that I didn't play yesterday because I felt like I needed an extra maybe day of rest and recovery a little bit. So it was perfect.

I played both matches just above an hour. I didn't spend too much time. I felt the ball really well. Nothing much to say more. I mean, just very positive overall.

Q. You were very efficient out there. Before the match did you really try to make sure you were locked in or it was just one of those days?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, it's very important, especially in days like this when you know if you win the first match you're going to have a second one later at night. Conditions are completely different day and night. The ball bounces much different. It's very slow, very heavy on the court.

It was fun to play on the different court because you're kind of closer to the crowd, you feel the atmosphere is really nice on the Grandstand. The quality of the court is really, really bad.

But, you know, it is what it is. You just enjoy the experience of playing outside. I'm looking forward for next round.

Q. You've had a busy day, but with respect to what Nick Kyrgios did today, I'm wondering if you think he should be suspended, if so for how long?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I don't know. I've seen it. I'll let others, officials, decide that. I have no opinion on that.

Q. Roger Federer played 3 hours 50 minutes. You half. Do you think this can affect him? If you were him, would you prefer to start playing on Wednesday or you would prefer to play on Tuesday and have maybe one day off, not play two matches in the same day?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, I'm not him, so I cannot really answer.

Q. (No microphone.).
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I don't know. I don't know what he prefers.

Q. What do you prefer?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I actually like to start earlier so if I can start on Tuesday. But obviously because I played finals in Madrid, came here late, of course I was scheduled to play Wednesday in these kind of cases.

If I'm not playing the week before, then I like to start earlier and maybe have a day between, like, first match and second match.

It's unfortunate for the tournament to have all day rain. It's not common to see rain all day really, from beginning to the end. A lot of complications. Obviously the schedule was completely full today with singles, doubles, men, women.

Maybe they should have played some guys on Tuesday from the seeds. Maybe, maybe not. I don't know. It's always in these kind of situations you can think about what could have been done or not. It's just sometimes the nature is too strong and you just have to deal with it.

Q. Yesterday night near the Olympic stadium there was a football match. Are you happy for the Serbian player Sergej Milinkovic-Savic?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Very happy for him. He's one of the best football players from Serbia. He's definitely someone that I follow and support. Of course, I support him. I support every Serbian football player that is playing. We had some really great guys this season, Tadic, and Jovic in Frankfurt. It's really fantastic to see that. As most of the other athletes and guys that follow football.

Around this time is usually Coppa Italia. Usually it's played during the tennis tournament. We can hear the noise. The noise was amazing last night. Yeah, I wish him definitely all the best in his career.

Q. Juan Martin next. Your thoughts on coming back once more? Does the matchup on clay present any different challenges for you?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: He's had also two comfortable matches today. Didn't seem to spend too much time on the court. Of course, he probably prefers because of style of play hard court more. He played equally well throughout his career on clay.

With that serve and forehand, it doesn't really matter what surface you play on. It's quite a weapon that he has. He's very tall. He uses that height really well. He's very smart with the way he moves around the court.

Obviously it's not easy for him to move like me or someone else that is not as tall. For him it's more effort. He's positioning himself very well on the court.

It's going to be a great challenge. We had battles throughout our careers, last one in US Open finals. I love him really as a person. He's a lovely guy, really nice guy. We get along very well. I respect him a lot as a player.

It's unfortunate that he struggled throughout his career with injuries. But he's always, in my eyes, one of the best players in the world. If he's on, he's mentally strong, he's got weapons. He's been in the situations where you play against the biggest rival in biggest tournaments in sport, biggest stadium in sport. He's not overwhelmed by the occasion.

It going to be a good battle. I look forward to it.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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