WESTERN & SOUTHERN OPEN

August 21, 2020

Novak Djokovic

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: We have Novak Djokovic.

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: First I just want to say a little. It's quite interesting to be in the room with a camera. Thanks for being here.

Q. You worked so hard throughout your career to position yourself as a responsible guy, good guy, all those things. Built up a great reputation. You had that glitch with the Adria Tour. Are you seeing this tournament as a way to get yourself back on track, show a different face to the public? Did that play a part in your decision to come here instead of staying back and playing the French Open?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: No, I don't see it that way. I don't think that I'm going to show a different face because the people know my face mostly from the tennis court, so obviously I'm back to kind of the environment that I'm most comfortable with.

Obviously I don't enjoy anything that I do off the court that is related to tennis as much as I do the things that I do on the court, so I love competing. I think in the end of the day, we all are professional tennis players, and we all want to be here and our season to restart.

No, that was also not the deciding factor why I came to New York. First of all, I miss tennis. I miss competition, you know.

I also worked closely in the council with ATP, and obviously ATP management and board has worked closely with USTA to make this happen. Obviously the bubble environment and circumstances are obviously different from what we are used to, you know.

But at the same time I think the bottom line is that it's positive that we are here. I congratulate the USTA, ATP, everyone who has been involved to make this happen. It's not easy. We are one of the few global sports that have not found a way to keep going. But it's all understandable.

And I think especially when you see things from a perspective of our sport being played worldwide, week after week, with every country and every continent going through different sort of restrictions and different regulations...

But, yeah, as I say, in the end of the day it is positive we are here. There are going to be a lot of people around the world who think we should not play tennis, that no public gathering should happen. I understand that fully. I really do.

But, you know, I think there also is going to be quite a lot of people that are going to be happy to see tennis keep going and everyone try their best in organization to create conditions, bubble-like, that will protect the players and people around and allow the sport to keep going.

This is not only about us top 100 players, you know, participating here in the US Open and Cincinnati, as well. This is about tennis ecosystem in general. I think it sends out a very positive note about our sport and I think it's important from a financial standpoint to start, you know, also generating money within the ecosystem, within the federations, like American federation, ATP for that matter, and start feeding certain percentages to the groups of lower-ranked guys.

I mean, you can see things from different perspective. But I just feel like in the end of the day when you draw a line, in my opinion, it's more positive.

Q. You were very skeptical about this tournament initially. When did you change your mind?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, I was obviously close to not come, honestly, until probably week before I landed in New York. I didn't know whether I'm going to be playing or not because things were so unpredictable. I mean, there were so many different points that were discussed.

For me, the crucial, so to say, the most fundamental point that had to be confirmed, I think, for us players is this special exemption of coming back to Europe without being quarantined so we can actually be able to compete in the European tournaments like Roma or Kitzbühel for that matter or anything on the provisionary calendar. So that was the key issue that wasn't confirmed until quite late.

And then the next one, I think the big one, was the automatic disqualification, you know, that also was discussed a lot about. That was confirmed. Yet now we have this situation with Pella and Dellien which was quite tricky.

Things are changing a lot of times and in such a short period. Sometimes it's out of the hands of USTA and ATP and governing body in tennis, and it's more up to the health department of New York state, and we have to accept it, I guess. It's tough. It's not easy.

And especially with these two guys, it's not easy seeing them being out of the Cincinnati tournament and most likely out of US Open and being quarantined and yet have the negative results, several negative results in last couple of days.

We were actually informed by the chief medical doctor of USTA, US Open, about a couple weeks ago when we had a conversation, all of us players, I think a lot of players on the call, about 30 or 40 players participating in the US Open, and we asked the question about this specific situation these two players are in.

He told us something that is obviously contrary to what was written in the waiver, as you probably read, the waiver is up to the contact tracing investigation process that had to be done by New York Health Department, and then when they determined whether those players were too close or not too close they can decide whether to disqualify them or not. So that's what happened.

But when we talked on that Zoom call, we got information from the gentleman that if a player is not sharing a room in a hotel with his coach or physio or anyone from his team that is infected, that is positive, and his results are showing that he's negative, he can still compete in the tournament.

We have asked that question a couple times on the call, and that's what was communicated to us. So we thought that is the way.

That's why a lot of players were upset, they were and still are upset, including myself, when I see that Dellien and Pella are treated in this way.

Again, it's hard. I can't point fingers at anybody. These kind of circumstances are very tricky. Things are changing so rapidly, and I guess there is always a realistic chance that this might happen during US Open, as well. Then we don't even know, it was not determined how many players have to be infected for maybe the tournament to be canceled and stuff.

So as we go along, I think we will figure things out more. I think we just have to stick together and hope for the best.

Q. Goran posted some footage of the place you're staying with the lavish garden. Looks very nice and quite flashy. You're not worried some players might come and join you, are you?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, I'm sure that there is a lot of players that would like to join (smiling). At least quite a few have expressed the desire. Obviously that's not going to happen.

I don't know whether that was a comment from you or a question, why I'm staying in a house?

Q. I mean, it obviously is something you wanted to do, makes you feel good. What are the particular reasons you did that?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, I mean, obviously from the very beginning it was brought to my attention that the housing is possible. So I did not think of any other option except the house for coming here. So I made that investment.

Every player had their opportunity to make that investment. You know, if the majority of the players didn't make that investment, that's fine. I mean, it's completely up to an individual. It's a personal choice whether you want to stay in a house or not.

We have a 24/7 security, four guys controlling the front and back of the house so we can't go without them seeing us. And, yeah, I mean, we are in the bubble environment. You know, we are controlled from the point when we leave the house to when we arrive on-site. We have to be in contact constantly with USTA representatives.

So, yeah, I mean, it was an investment for me, but I know it is a right one. I mean, of course I'm, you know, grateful that I can afford this kind of investment. It's quite a significant one, especially in these kind of circumstances.

But, you know, being able to go out and have a garden and have some kind of peace and quiet, yeah... Especially in these kind of circumstances, it's definitely a luxury, and I'm grateful.

Q. As you were weighing the positives and negatives and trying to come to a decision on whether to come to New York, how big of a motivating factor was the opportunity to get Grand Slam No. 18 and get even closer to Roger and Rafa, as you have been closing in on them? And I'm also wondering your perspective on playing in a Grand Slam tournament for the first time in your career where neither Federer nor Nadal will be in the field?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, I'll start with your last question first.

It is definitely strange not to have Federer and Nadal, at least one of them. They will be missed, without a doubt, because they are who they are, legends of our sport.

But, you know, with Federer and Nadal and Wawrinka not coming to the tournament, every other top player is here. So I don't make a significant difference in terms of whether this Grand Slam should be considered as a Grand Slam in terms of title or something like that. I see there is a conversation about that and that people think that it should not be valued in the same way. I disagree with that.

I think most of the top players are here. Yes, the circumstances and conditions are obviously different. Yes, we are not having the crowd, we have restrictions, the bubble. We have restricted access from team members to some player areas and stuff. But in the end of the day, we also have a suite now (smiling). We usually don't have. So that's kind of on a brighter side an advantage of not having a crowd, is that you have as a seeded player access to your own suite on center court where you can have an area for resting, for treatment. You can, you know, obviously order food. You can have your private time.

I think that's great. So, you know, and then to answer your first question, can you remind me? Sorry.

Q. You said you only decided about a week before coming. And I was just wondering as you were weighing positives, negatives, how much of a motivating factor was it to get to No. 18 in Grand Slams and get closer to the two guys ahead of you?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, I mean, obviously, look, you know, I did not make my decision because Rafa pulled out. I mean, if that's what people want to hear or... I made my decision already months ago to come to US Open and play here because I really wanted to restart on a hard court where I feel the most comfortable. That's the surface that I have most success on. I love playing in the US Open.

So I did make my call to come, but I wasn't 100% sure whether that's going to happen or not until certain points were defined and clarified before coming here, which was, as I mentioned before, the special exemption, coming without quarantine back to Europe and so forth, few other details.

Once that was checked and I flew over, that's it. Every Grand Slam I play is an opportunity to get a title. I know that. But I'm not the only one. Every other player who is playing here has a chance to win it.

Whether I have a bigger chance to win it because Roger and Rafa are not here, I really don't know. I think it's unfair for me to talk about. That in a way is kind of disrespectful towards other players who are here. I mean, Dominic Thiem, Zverev, Tsitsipas, Medvedev, these guys, they are as good as the top three guys, myself, Roger, Rafa. Anybody can take it, to be honest.

And especially now after six months of absence from the tour, we don't really know how we are going to feel on the court. We are going to have Cincinnati, which is great, have the tournament before US Open. But it's still six months without competition, best of five. You can't get your towel from the ball kid. That's going to extend the time between the point. That's going to extend the time of the matches.

Yeah, I don't know. It's just one of these things that you have to experience in order to really know how it's going to feel.