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AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 19, 2020

Novak Djokovic

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. If you win your first-round match, you'll be the sixth player in the Open Era with over 600 wins. What will that milestone mean to you?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Milestones are definitely a motivation, I think. At the same time they make me proud, of course, of what I have achieved in my career. They give even more significance to why I'm competing in professional tennis still.

But at the same time, you know, there's some other higher goals that I have kind of as a driving force I think more than any other milestone I guess.

But they all are important.

Q. You've spoken out in terms of climate change. Were you stunned by what's happening here? What do you think athletes can do to deal with this climate change crisis?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, it's a tragedy for Australia. It's really not pleasant to see this many people suffer the consequences of a big force that is hard to stop. At times nature shows us how in a way insignificant we are towards her.

I think everyone is trying to do their best to understand what people, animals, ecosystems are going through in order to contribute in one way or another.

What happened the other night at the Rod Laver Arena was truly special. It was a lot of fun. I think it was one of the best tennis exhibition events that I was ever part of, with all the stars from both men's and women's side. Over five million was raised. That was an incredible success. I'm really glad that I was part of that.

I think athletes have a blessing to have such a great platform to do good things. Everything that we say is kind of heard in different parts of the world. So we can, of course, talk about it, raise the awareness about it, be part of such events or fundraisers, and of course contribute financially ourselves. Everyone has, I guess, an individual way of helping out.

It's really tragical to see the suffering that this country is going through in the last couple of months.

Q. You've already won four Grand Slam titles since turning 30, which is the second-highest total in the Open Era. Could you point to something that has allowed you to have that success at that age? I'm also wondering how you've been either influenced by or seen and it's helped you, the success of guys like Federer and Nadal past the age of 30? Have you ever given or how much thought have you given to how long you want to try to continue at this level?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: It's a lot of questions in one question.

I think, first of all, Roger has talked about this as well, Rafa as well, that age is just a number. It's not just a cliché, but it's really something that I feel like the three of us have in common. It's really the way we approach career and our everyday life.

I think we found a way, a formula, to balance private-professional life so we are able to kind of excel in tennis and still be able to compete at the highest level after many years, still be motivated, still be mentally fresh and, of course, physically prepared and fit to compete in best-of-five sets with young players that are coming up. They're obviously very hungry to reach the great heights and fight for the biggest trophies in sport.

I mean, personally for me it seems like my career was going in sequences of several years. I think every sequence had different circumstances in life, in different situations, that have made me the person and the player I am today.

I think I just had to adapt to this newly-occurring circumstances and evolve, kind of grow stronger, and also find purpose and motivation in each of these phases or sequences in my career, in my life as well.

I mean, I'm completely different person, have completely different life today than I had five years ago. I'm a father of two children. Obviously things are not the way they were 5 or 10 years ago. I know that. But that doesn't necessarily mean it's better or it's worse, it's just different.

I adapt to that and I try to maximize the present moment as much as I can in my life and try to find the optimal balance and formula that will allow me to play my best.

I still feel physically fit. I try to take care of my body. I try to be very conscious and aware of that kind of holistic approach, that still allows me to be here and compete with the best players in the world.

You mentioned Roger and Rafa, my kind of rivalry with them, that being one of the motivations for me to still keep going at this age. I will agree with that, of course. I mentioned many times before that the three of us have inspired each other throughout our rivalries and careers to be better, to understand how we can overcome obstacles in the matchups that we have against each other or anything else really that followed our careers.

I am more grateful today to be in the same era with these two guys than I was probably 10, 15 years ago (smiling). I think that definitely rivalries with them made me very, very strong, very resilient, and also very motivated that I am still today.

Q. You said the young ones are very hungry and eager to win Grand Slams, as well. What do you think they still are missing to make the last step and eventually win a Grand Slam?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, they're coming closer and closer. It's obvious. Medvedev had a great fight with Rafa in the last Grand Slam in US Open of last season. Tsitsipas played semis here last year. Dominic Thiem twice finals in French Open. They're very, very close. They're literally one set away.

On a given day, in the very near future, I think that can happen. It's going to happen. It's inevitable.

What they're missing? I don't think they are missing too much, to be honest. I think they possess very powerful games that require a lot of skills, and they have those skills. They have put in the hours and dedicated themselves on and off the court.

I think a lot of those next generation players working very hard, being very professional. That's a good sign because that's one of the precursors, I guess, for the success.

But at the same time to win a slam and also to kind of be consistently on the top level for many years, it takes I think a player to gain that mental and emotional maturity and experience to understand his own strengths, to kind of fight his own fears, to really be able to maintain that level for a long time.

Rafa, Roger, and I, obviously because of the past 10, 15 years, we know what we need to do mentally also in this particular situation. That gives us probably a little bit of an edge.

Nevertheless, everything has to kind of intertwine and everything has to be, I guess, in balance. When I say 'everything' I mean mental, physical, emotional. Then of course you need to have luck on that day and for the stars to align to win a Grand Slam trophy.

They're very close. I don't think that's miles, miles away maybe as it was some years ago. I think they are definitely hungry. They're challenging. They're knocking on the door.

Q. Back to the air quality. We obviously saw some players having serious problems in qualifying Tuesday, Wednesday.
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Yes.

Q. How concerned were you at the time for yourself and other players? How concerned are you now going ahead?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: To be honest, I was concerned those several days you mentioned. I think Melbourne at that time was the most polluted city in the world that day. It was sad to see some players collapsing and ball kids collapsing on the court.

I had faith in Melbourne, 'four seasons city' as they call it, that changes the weather very quickly. A lot of rain one night and wind as well which cleared out the skies. Last three days has been really good, fresh air, it's like nothing happened.

Whether that's going to stay or not, we don't know. The fires are still ongoing. We hope not for the sake of I guess well-being and health of all the players. Also this tournament obviously would have lots of troubles if they have to cancel matches.

Luckily they have three closed courts with the roof. But still there is so many matches, so many players. Let's hope that the worst is behind us.

Q. Do you have to change anything in your preparation for the first round because of the energy you left in the ATP Cup, maybe more mental than physical?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Yes, yes, you're right. I did not have such an intensive couple of weeks the year before the Australian Open for many years. I did have participation in Doha tournament, Hopman Cup before, everything.

It was a lot of physical and emotional energy being spent in the ATP Cup, which of course was perfect for me individually, won all my matches in singles and doubles. We as a team won the title, which was definitely one of the highlights of my career.

I keep saying that, winning with my friends, with the team, representing my country, winning team competitions, is definitely something that I cherish and that fulfills me truly.

It was phenomenal couple of weeks and great leadup to Australian Open. But it did take a lot out of me. I did adjust my training sessions towards that, so I had a little bit more of recuperation rather than just stepping on accelerator a little bit more.

I just actually kind of put a level down a little bit, just tried to keep the sessions a bit shorter, with good intensity. That's all, just maintain the right rhythm for the first match.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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