NITTO ATP FINALS

November 20, 2021

Novak Djokovic

Pala Alpitour, Torino

Press Conference

A. ZVEREV/N. Djokovic

7-6, 4-6, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. What do you think made the difference today? What did you make of the way Sascha was serving, especially second serve, going fast and slow...

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: He's one of the best servers in the world, we decided before the match. He showed tonight why that is a fact. I mean, he got himself out of trouble few times with serve.

I was serving pretty good, as well. I just had the one very bad game in the third set. Three forehand, one backhand unforced error, really from pretty easy position. Yeah, just wasted really the match in that game. Even though I thought it was quite even, had some chances to come back, 2-4 down in the third, just missed again, a forehand long.

Yeah, tough match. But I enjoyed it. I thought it was a really good battle, really high-quality tennis. We pushed each other, as we always do.

Q. Can I ask you about the Australian Open, your reaction to the decision that all players will need to be vaccinated to play in Melbourne? Are you able to tell us that you'll definitely be in Australia to try to defend your title?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: We'll see. We'll have to wait and see.

Q. Sascha had some very nice things to say about you on the court. I don't know if you heard. He said how he believes you should be the most respected guy, all that. How nice is it to have such respect from your biggest peers?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Sascha is also a friend off the court. We get along very well. Not easy to be very close obviously when you're rivals, playing that much against each other on the biggest stage.

But we talk a lot about life, about a lot of different things. I'm always happy to share some of my experiences with him. We always had a wonderful relationship.

Of course, we want to win against each other, but there is that respect and appreciation for each other that is more important than win or lose. That's something that I always had with Sascha. I really appreciate that.

I wish him all the best. He's a great guy, fantastic tennis player, I'm sure soon to be a Grand Slam champion.

Q. Back to Australia. Do you think it's a fair decision by Tennis Australia? I'm sure you've been talking to them over the last few weeks.

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I haven't been talking to them, to be honest. I was just waiting to hear what the news is going to be.

Now that I know, we'll just have to wait and see.

Q. On the physical note today, I saw that you won three matches this year against Sascha Zverev when he was leading the first set and you were playing late yesterday. In the third do you feel it was also a physical thing why you lost today?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Not at all. Not at all. I did not feel tired at all. I could have gone for another few hours, no problem. It was just a bad game, 2-1 down in the third set, a very bad game, four unforced errors. In the conditions like this where you have one of the biggest servers in the game, it's just difficult to come back from that. That's all it is.

Q. You still have Davis Cup. If you look back at the ATP season, what is the biggest lesson you take away from this year?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, it was a great season, no doubt. I mean, I did not play many tournaments, but still managed to end the year at No. 1 for the seventh time, broke records for the year-end No. 1, historic No. 1, won three out of four slams. The year was phenomenal. Maybe could have done better in some other ATP events. But all in all really good ending of the season as well with a title in Paris and semifinals here.

I like the way I'm playing. I like my chances against anybody in the Davis Cup really. I look forward to that. Obviously Davis Cup is a team competition. It doesn't depend on me only. We have to try to win another singles or at least one singles, one doubles.

Yeah, it's a team effort. So hopefully the other guys are fit and ready. I'm very motivated to play for my country. Let's hope for the best.