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DUBAI DUTY FREE TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPSFebruary 26, 2020Novak DjokovicDubai, United Arab Emirates N. DJOKOVIC/P. Kohlschreiber 6-3, 6-1 THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. What would you like to tell us about that? NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Not much. Depends what you ask me. Look, I thought I was very sharp from the beginning mentally. Took me a first few games to really kind of get used to the tricky conditions today. It was pretty windy on the court, even though maybe it doesn't seem like that from outside. The wind was changing directions all the time. It was not really easy to get the rhythm. It was completely different from any other day. Wind just picked up today. Philipp is a tough opponent. You have to take him seriously regardless of his ranking. He's someone that has tremendous experience of playing on a big stage. He's played so many big tournaments in his life, big matches. He actually likes this kind of challenge. 12 months ago he beat me in straight sets in Indian Wells. I knew coming into this match I have to be sharp, stay focused all the way till the end, not allow him to feel like he has a chance to come back to the match if I'm in front. That's what happened. I thought the second set was really, really good. I felt great on my service games. Everything was flowing really nicely. The return games I was putting constant pressure on him. Q. What do you make of Maria Sharapova's news? What do you think was her impact on the sport? NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Her impact on the sport, not just women's tennis, but men's tennis, tennis in general, was great. It still is great. It's going to keep on being present because her brand I think exceeds her tennis achievements. She has different businesses. I know she has Sugarpova brand, different things. She's a very smart girl, someone that I know very well for a long time. She has the mind of a champion, someone that never gives up. She's shown that especially in the last five years. She had a lot of obstacles and difficulties, especially with her injuries and everything that she had to endure in order to give herself at least another chance to play competitive tennis. For someone that has won five Grand Slams and has been No. 1 of the world, legend of the sport, it's not easy to kind of restart all over again. She has done that so many times in the last five years. Respect, great respect to her. I wish her huge relief. I'm sure she's feeling huge relief right now. I would guess that's kind of a feeling that comes in first. She should definitely be proud of everything she has achieved. Q. Khachanov is next. Your views on that? NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Karen is a very powerful player. Big serve, big forehand, very, very solid backhand. He's tall, physically very strong. He likes hitting the ball very fast and with a lot of power, similar to Rublev. I guess it's a Russian thing (smiling). He's a great guy. We get along very well. We practice a lot. He's a hard worker. Puts a lot of time and energy into trying to perfect his game. He has a great coach, very experienced. I've seen him play a few matches here. I think he's playing on a really good level. It's going to be a great challenge for both of us. It's going to be a night match. We'll see a little bit different conditions than day for him. He played here during the day a couple times. I know what I need to do. I know his game. I'm going to prepare myself well with my team, try to be as sharp as I have in the first two matches. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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