THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

July 11, 2021

Novak Djokovic

Press Conference

N. DJOKOVIC/M. Berrettini

6-7, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Could you talk a little bit about the kind of nerves you were feeling today going for this kind of big record. Three double-faults in the first two games. Slow, by your standards, second serves in the first two sets. It felt like you were quite tense and nervous. Did you feel the weight of expectation on you today?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Yeah, I have definitely felt slightly more nervous than I usually feel at the beginning of today's match, particularly the first set. I think after the first set was done, I just felt relief.

Obviously it was not great that I lost the first set, but on the other hand I just felt like I just wanted to get this first set over with so I could just start to swing through the ball and play the way I want to play.

That started to happen already in the first four games of the second set, 4-Love up very quickly. I knew that momentum shifted. I just felt more comfortable. Obviously there were some close games in the third set. I was break up. He had some breakpoint chances to come back.

But other than that I felt that I was in control of the match from the beginning of the second set. He has a lot of firepower, serve and forehand. Obviously playing on grass against a big server like Berrettini is always a big challenge. I knew that I'm going to have a big obstacle trying to get returns back in play. Once I'm in the rally I felt like most of the times I will probably have a better chance to win a baseline exchange, which was the case.

In some moments I played too defensive, I would say. Probably, yeah, as you said for my standard a bit slower, slower second serves. Yeah, it's probably due to the nerves, big occasion, finals of Wimbledon, history on the line.

Q. You just mentioned history on the line. Of everything that you've done so far and all the things still out there to accomplish as you move forward, what would you say you're proudest of? Also, you mentioned this rivalry with Roger and Rafa, how they helped you improve. What would you say is the area in which you've improved the most, has been the most important way in which you've become a better player in the last decade?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: All areas, to be honest. I felt like from 15 years ago to today the journey that I've been through has been very rewarding for every segment of my game and also my mental strength, the experience, understanding of how to cope with the pressure in the big moments, how to be a clutch player when it matters the most. That's probably, if I have to pick one, the one that I would point out as the highlight of my, so to say, improvement in my assets that I have in the last 15 years on the tour. Just the ability to cope with pressure.

The more you play the big matches, the more experience you have. The more experience you have, the more you believe in yourself. The more you win, the more confident you are. It's all connected.

Obviously it's all coming together. I feel like in the last couple of years for me age is just a number. I've said that before. I don't feel that I'm old or anything like that. Obviously things are a bit different and you have to adjust and adapt to your, so to say, phases you go through in your career.

But I feel like I'm probably the most complete that I've been as a player right now in my entire career.

Q. Do you consider yourself the greatest male tennis player of the Open Era? Do you think one of you three will actually break Margaret Court's record of 24 singles slams at one stage?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I consider myself best and I believe that I am the best, otherwise I wouldn't be talking confidently about winning slams and making history.

But whether I'm the greatest of all time or not, I leave that debate to other people. I said before that it's very difficult to compare the eras of tennis. We have different racquets, technology, balls, courts. It's just completely different conditions that we're playing in, so it's very hard to compare tennis, say, from 50 years ago to today.

But I am extremely honored to definitely be part of the conversation.

Q. Was there a moment when you realized that Roger's record was in reach? Was it a gradual thing?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I probably started thinking about trying to reach the record of most Grand Slams won, most weeks at No. 1 historically, probably about, say, two to three years ago. Before that it seemed a little bit out of reach.

I've always kind of believed that I could play my best tennis in Grand Slams and give myself a good chance to win any slam really on any surface because I know what I'm capable of. I know I have a very complete game that has proven to be successful on all surfaces in the past.

But only the last two-and-a-half, three years I started to realize that actually I can reach the weeks of No. 1, which was my primary goal actually in the last two years, and also Grand Slams.

It's really fortunate for me and incredible that it's all coming together in the same year. That's something that I didn't expect, but I always dream of achieving the biggest things in sport.

Q. You're obviously not just on course for the calendar Grand Slam but potentially for the Golden Slam. What is your latest thinking about that, the Olympics, where there don't appear to be any spectators allowed?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Yeah, that's not a great news. I received that news yesterday or two days ago. That was really disappointing to hear.

I also hear that there's going to be a lot of restrictions within the Village. Possibly you would not be able to see other athletes perform live. I can't even have my stringer that is very important part of my team. I can't have a stringer. I'm limited with the amount of people I can take in my team as well.

I'll have to think about it. Right now, as I said, my plan was always to go to Olympic Games. But right now I'm a little bit divided. It's kind of 50/50 because of what I heard in the last couple days.

Q. When you're playing a match like that and you're going through the pressure moments, do you think at all about the history aspect or are you thoroughly, thoroughly in the moment? And what is your thought process like in those critical points?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, I think it's a constant battle on the court to stay present, to stay in the now, so to say. Oftentimes you are experiencing emotions and thoughts that would take you in the past, regret for not playing a certain ball or a certain point that you wanted to play, that you could have played, or the anticipation for the future, what if, what's going to happen.

It's really a constant work of trying to bring those thoughts into the present moment. I feel like that's the biggest work that I have. Probably any athlete, particularly individual athletes. When you're present, experiencing and seeing things in a very simple way, it's a tennis match, it's only the next point, you're there, then you're able to perform your best.

I feel like if you're constantly divided between past and future, it's difficult to keep the quality of tennis that you really want. That's usually when players get tense, fold under pressure. It happens to me. Of course, I mean, I've been very fortunate to be so strong in the decisive moments of the biggest tournaments throughout my career. I lost also quite a bit of finals of Grand Slams where I felt like I was close to winning, but then I folded.

As Michael Jordan used to say, I failed, I failed, I failed, and that's why I succeeded in the end.

It's a learning process, a learning curve. The more you practice that, the more you experience that on the court, particularly in the biggest courts in our sport, the more comfortable I feel like you become and the more familiar you are with yourself. Then you see what kind of patterns you have emotionally. What are the moments when you are maybe feeling a bit more nervous. What are the moments when you're a bit more courageous or free.

I think most of the people see what we're going through on the court, but it's actually before the match and the preparations and everything that you have to deal with internally that is affecting greatly the way you're approaching the match and the way you're playing the match.

I did feel before the semis and also finals today slightly different emotion in terms of expectations, the tension buildup that I have maybe in the past because of, as I said, history is on the line, I'm aware of it, even though I was trying not to think about it too much, trying to approach this match as any other match. Sometimes the things are so big off the court that it's hard to avoid them in a way.

You learn how to deal with them. You learn how to accept the circumstances that you're going through, try to transmutate, so to say, transform that into the fuel that you need on the court.