MUTUA MADRID OPEN

May 1, 2022

Novak Djokovic

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Do you feel that Belgrade gave you a good chance to build your endurance on the court and see the ball bigger?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, I could have easily gone out in the first match of the tournament and had four three-setters that went, each one, over two-and-a-half hours, so I was looking for some more competitive match play.

I was looking to spend more time on the court, and that's what I got. So of course playing finals is a good result and I have to be positive about it.

Of course I didn't like the way I finished the tournament in the third set, again similar to what happened in Monte-Carlo. Physically I just kind of ran out of gas. Good thing is that I managed to play, you know, four long matches, and I guess maybe that's what kind of wore me down in the end.

But, you know, I like a lot of things about the way I was hitting the ball. Of course it's not at the level still where I wish it to be. It is a process, and I have to be patient. Hopefully things will progress in the right direction also this week.

Q. I want to ask you how have you coped mentally and physically with this unusual season you have so far, especially where you haven't played as much as you wanted to?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, it's definitely more on the mental and emotional side. Of course I have never experienced anything similar to what I experienced at the beginning of the year, and I did not know how that's going to affect me.

It obviously still -- you know, I still have to deal with it to some extent. It's not as powerful that it was in the first two, three months of the year. I feel like the more I play, the more I'm in this environment, the more comfortable I feel.

But lacking matches and this kind of environment under these kind of circumstances was not easy. You know, I had to deal with a lot of things mentally.

So I'm happy that I'm back on track in terms of being able to play in tournaments and, you know, having clarity in terms of schedule, where I need to go, where I can go, where I can peak and where I want to peak. Obviously in clay that's Roland Garros, and then I can be also in London playing in Wimbledon, which is of course a very important tournament to me. I'm happy with the next few months where I have an understanding and clarity where I can play. So hopefully I will be able to get the best out of myself, particularly in Grand Slams.

Q. Obviously you had a very close and professionally successful relationship with Boris Becker. I was just curious to know what your emotions were when you heard the news that kind of perhaps shocked people a bit on Friday?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Just heartbroken, I mean, for him. He's a friend, long-time friend, a coach for three, four years, someone I consider close in my life and has contributed a lot to my success in my career.

I was just heartbroken. I mean, don't know what to say more than that. I'm not going to get into details of the verdict, because I'm not in a position to do that, but as his friend, you know, I'm super sad for him. It's not much that you can say.

I mean, I just hope he will go through this period that he has to be in jail and that when he comes out he's, you know, being able to live his life as, I don't know if we'll use the word "normal," because the life is definitely changing, I mean, for anybody going to prison, especially for that long of a time.

So I don't know how things will turn out for him. I just pray for him. I hope things will be well in terms of his health, his mental health, because that's going to be the most challenging part.

Q. You have spoken and made clear your position on the ban at Wimbledon. I'd be interested to hear what you think should happen now. There have been discussions about possible sanctions, points deductions, some of the players are discussing potential legal action. Should there be consequences, if any?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I heard, yes, I have spoken to some of the Russian players in Belgrade, and, obviously it's not an easy situation to be in, you know, stripped away the right to participate in one of the biggest tournaments if not the biggest tournament in the world.

It's hard. You know, I understand that, you know, there is frustration. ATP is going to, I guess, analyze the whole situation and understand what can be done. I have not spoken to people from ATP, so I'm not sure about it.

Going through something similar, let's say, it's not the same thing, but going through something similar earlier this year for myself, it's frustrating knowing that you're not able to play.

As I said, you know, I still stand by my position that I don't support the decision. I think it's just not fair, it's not right, but it is what it is. You know, they are entitled to make the decision, and now I guess it's on player council, the tour management, to really decide along with the players what is the best solution in this situation, whether they keep the points, protect the points, take away 50% of the points or whatever.

We had in the last couple of years, because of CORONA, some reduction on points, and different, I guess, models were implemented that were not implemented before because of CORONA in order to allow players not to play if they don't want to play but still have their points.

So I heard that some of those models are still considered to be, you know, used in this kind of instance, but, you know, I'm not sure what is right, what is wrong, to be honest. I guess we'll have to wait and see the outcome.

Q. Did you find a reason that what happened in Monaco and the last tournament, do you think it's really the lack of matches that is impacting your fitness or was it something else? Are you worried it could happen again?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Look, it's not the lack of matches. Lack of matches affects, you know, my ability to play on a certain level and perform, but this was related to that illness that I had, you know, a week before Monte-Carlo tournament.

I knew I was not really 100% ready for that tournament, but still, I wanted to play because I was really looking forward to have some matches and playing in Monaco, where I resided for many years.

So I go guess there is some traces of that still left in my system that I guess come forth when I'm, you know, really physically challenged.

But different in Belgrade than it was in Monaco, as I said. Knowing that I played four almost-three-hour matches and long, three-set battles gives me enough reason to believe that it's headed in the right direction. I had a very good week of training now, put more emphasis on fitness and building the stamina and endurance, because that's what's going to be necessary in order to compete with top guys on the slowest and physically most demanding surface in our sport.

Q. As you mentioned, there are a few options on the table at the moment in terms of both tours perhaps withholding points from Wimbledon. As a player, when you play Wimbledon, and let's say there aren't any points involved, how does that affect you? How do you view that? Will it feel like a glorified exhibition? Is it weird? How will you see it if it happens?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Everything is possible, I guess, but I really doubt that there won't be any points, you know, in Wimbledon. Probably the more realistic option is to protect the points from the Russian and Belarusian players that are not playing.

Again, anything is possible, so we have to wait and see and discuss at that point. You know, Wimbledon and Grand Slams are more than tournaments where you earn 2,000 points if you win. There is history behind it.

So to me, Wimbledon was always a dream tournament when I was a kid. It won't change, if that answers your question, but again, it's a big effect. You know, it's a ripple effect as well later on, I mean, how that's going to affect the post-Wimbledon ranking system.

I think in this particular situation, you won't have everyone happy, so there is going to be somebody that's going to be suffer more consequences I guess negatively in terms of points and what else, you know, than maybe some other players.