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DUBAI DUTY FREE TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS

February 29, 2020

Novak Djokovic

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

N. DJOKOVIC/S. Tsitsipas

6-3, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Apart from the early breakpoint against you, you seemed to be fairly comfortable throughout the whole match.
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Yeah, again I think it was a little bit of a slow start from me. I was fortunate to hold my service games. He was very close to break my serve first three service games that I had in the first set.

After that, that probably decisive break of serve at 4-3 that allowed me to serve it out for the set, I felt mentally I started having a little bit more of an advantage on the court. You could sense that I got the momentum. I didn't want to lose the momentum.

I was a break up in the second set. He re-breaked right away. I was comfortable from the back of the court playing with him. It seems like he did drop his intensity a little bit from the previous matches.

As he was saying on the court, it was a tiring week for him, I guess tiring couple of weeks, because he played every single day more or less since 10 days ago or two weeks ago in Marseille, starting there, winning a trophy and coming to finals here.

Anyway, nevertheless it had to be done in a right way. I served out the match in a great fashion, won another trophy here. I'm just obviously very, very pleased.

Q. You said on court, joking, took it back, so let's set the record straight here. Is going undefeated this year a real target for you?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: No, no (smiling). Of course I'm trying to embrace the moment and appreciate where I am. I think this has been one of the best starts of all seasons I had in my career. I feel great on the court. I've been playing great tennis on the hard court that is my most successful and preferred surface.

I'm just grateful that I'm playing well, feeling well. I've won many matches now in a row. I'll try to keep that run going. It's just way too early to speak about how long that run might go, the calculations. I try not to think about predictions. I try to focus on what I need to do with myself and my team in order to thrive every day, in order to try to play as best as I can every single match. That's the main focus.

Obviously after that you have goals. I've set what my goals are. They're very clear to me. I'm working towards them. I will try to stay healthy and fit and have possibly great Indian Wells, Miami. It hasn't happened for the last three years for me there. I'm really motivated to do well. Also a lot of points up for grabs there for me.

Historically I've won both tournaments quite a lot of times. I have couple of weeks now till my first match in Indian Wells, which allows me to recover, rest and get ready, be in top shape.

Q. When you win so much, when you're on these streaks, what really is the challenge to stay motivated?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, motivation never lacks, to be honest, at least in my case. I find motivation in the small things and details. As I said for me the biggest motivation is my self-growth as a player and as a person. Tennis really allows me to have that platform of learning and growing and developing both personally and professionally like nothing else in life. I'm grateful for that.

Then, of course, I get inspired and motivated by the goals that I set. That's why I play professional tennis. It's why I compete. The season, as I said, started in a most perfect way possible. I am aware of the fact that most of the matches that I'm going to play, the players will not have much to lose. They will go out and try to play their best and stop the streak. At the same time the more I win, the more confident and comfortable I feel playing next match and competing and really performing well.

Q. Stefanos has been very open this week about the struggles at his age of always having his family around, parents involved in his career. You had success at a young age. What was the process like for you to gain control over the decision making? Did you always have it?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Those are very private things. It's very subjective and very individual. I understand Stefanos. I haven't heard him speak about that or read that. But you go through the process of self-realization and learning, maturing, then understanding what's good for you in life, in your career.

He's a mature man already. He's young in terms from the perspective of professional sport, but he's been around. He's very smart, very wise. I mean, you heard his words on the court. I told him that after the match, I told him that I love that about him, I love the fact that he is more than just tennis player and he's always looking to learn from the experience and to understand something new about himself so he can improve, get better.

That for me is a trait of a champion, of someone that for sure has a great potential to be No. 1 of the world and win slams and be the great ambassador of our sport. He already is, but he has great future ahead of him, I'm sure.

Look, family and decision making, I'm not going to get involved in that. We all have individual cases that are different. It's really hard to say. It just depends on the circumstances in life. Depends on what you feel is best.

Of course, parents, family members, the closest people in your life that have been there since day one are your greatest support. Of course they want the best for you.

I know both of his parents. They're nice people. They really care about him being the best tennis player he can be and also the best person he can be. I think they're doing a very good job.

Q. The golden visa that you get, what exactly do you plan to do? What do you think you can do with it?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I'm not using Dubai as residence, but one day if I ever decide to do that, I think that's going to give me I guess an easier way to establish myself as a resident, as I understood. I'm not really yet sure about all the benefits and privileges of that honor.

I am grateful because I've been now friends for years with His Highness, Fazza if I can call him that way. I want to thank him for allowing me to train in his facility for the years I've been coming to Dubai.

Golden visa is I like to think a positive consequence of the relationship that we had, as well, alongside other big athletes like Ronaldo, Federer. I'm honored to be in that group.

Dubai has been a very important city in my career not just because of the tournament but because I've been actually coming as a tourist here and using this as a base for pre-season training. I really enjoy it. I can't wait to come back again. If you ask my children, they'll probably be even more excited to come back to Dubai.

Q. Will you buy an apartment?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I don't know yet.

Q. When you look at the serves of all these younger players, the next generation, whose serve challenges your return the most?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, I have not played against Opelka. Because of his height, he resembles Isner a lot, so he definitely has the toughest serve to return from the young players.

Most of these next generation players, they're very tall. Because of their height, they have extremely powerful serves that give them a lot of free points. Like Zverev, Medvedev, Tsitsipas, Khachanov, they all have big serves.

It's really hard to pick one. They have slightly different techniques, everything. They're very powerful. They go through the court very quickly. You saw Stefanos has been serving tonight regularly over 200, 215 first serves. Sometimes you don't want to be on the opposite end when the missile is coming that way.

I've been fortunate that I could and I still can rely a lot on my return that has served me pretty well.

Q. (Question about the Ronaldo jump.)
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: No. Obviously I'm still a beginner with Ronaldo jump. He promised he will still teach me how to do it properly. I don't need that kind of jump for tennis so much. That's an excuse (smiling).

Q. Can it help you at some point?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I don't know. Maybe if I'm running to hit a header or if you put a basket on the tennis court for me to dunk, then I need to jump.

For us, it's kind of more the lateral movements, first step direction, change of direction. Of course you need the plyometrics as well, but not as much as in football, basketball.

Ronaldo is a beast physically. It's amazing how high he can jump, how fit he is.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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