DUBAI DUTY FREE TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS

March 3, 2023

Novak Djokovic

Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium

Press Conference

D. MEDVEDEV/N. Djokovic

6-4, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Daniil is maybe the only player who can extract too many unforced errors from Novak. What is it about his game that gives him an edge with you?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, he extracts and provokes unforced errors from everybody because that's his game, that's what he does. But he does it extremely well.

He's very patient. He's very athletic. For his height, he moves well. Backhand is one of the most consistent strokes that you have in today's game.

Yeah, you're right, I mean, in some decisive moments I just made an unforced error, and that's it. Kind of handed the win. At the same time he deserved to win it. He was a better player in both sets.

Yeah, it's unfortunate I had some really bad mistakes in the first set to give him the second break.

But this is tennis. You learn from your mistakes and from the defeats, and hopefully next time I'll be better.

Q. Obviously you were coming back from an injury. Overall, what positives did you take out of this week?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Oh, lots of positives. The way I felt throughout the entire week makes me really satisfied with the current state of my body, not knowing how I'm going to react with the comeback after an injury. I'm really glad.

I lost to a better opponent. I know that I didn't play well in some decisive moments, but it was also due to his quality of tennis.

That's it. We move on to the next challenge.

Q. Through most of the tournament we've seen you applaud your opponent when the praise is well-deserved. I want to know who is one opponent who throughout your career has been that positive force of encouragement on or off the court?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: That's a good question. Are you referring to someone that I know that has been applauding for the good points, good moves?

Q. Yes.

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Or just in general?

Q. I'd like to know on court and off court as well.

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I mean, there are many players that have been good examples, and players that haven't been good examples. I'd rather talk about the ones that are good examples.

I think Hubert Hurkacz is somebody that is extremely respectful and very fair on the court. I would put him right up there from the current rivals that I have.

I think Dimitrov, as well, always very fair play. Great guy. We always got along well. Big fighter, of course, when we're on the court. He never crosses the line, does something to kind of cheat the opponent or anything like that. He's always very fair.

Those two guys.

From former generation, it's hard to say at the moment. Sorry. No names going to my mind. But these two from current.

Q. What takeaways are there from Dubai, if there are any? And what are you looking forward to for the rest?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I don't know what 'the rest' is. I'm still waiting for the news from America. If there's no America, I guess I'll play clay. Monte-Carlo is probably the next tournament. If that's the case, I'll take some time off, I'll prepare.

Clay, as we've said, is the most demanding surface. It takes time more than any other surface to prepare for.

Look, the year is long. I started off the year in a best possible way, winning many matches in a row, winning Australian Open. That's the one that I looked for the most. That was the priority in this part of the year.

Of course, any other tournament win is a bonus. I will always give everything I possibly can to play my best tennis in every tournament.

I also know that there are tournaments where I'm looking to peak and looking to always play my best tennis. I enjoyed playing over the years in Dubai. I'll keep coming back because it's definitely a place where I enjoy spending time, training, playing in front of the great crowd that comes in big numbers.

Yeah, look forward to the next challenge.

Q. Is it a possibility you can beat Nadal on clay in his favorite surface? Are you looking forward to that?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: If it's not a possibility, my friend, I wouldn't be playing tennis.

Q. I asked Daniil if he's using mindfulness, consciousness. I know you are very into that. Is there any edge of those things you're going to use to pass through?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Pass through what? Sorry?

Q. This match today.

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I mean, look, everyone is different. I don't think there is some general formula that works for everyone.

Over the years I've been doing different things, trying different things, that help me stay serene and balanced on the court, off the court. It's not always possible.

But I think that experience, as well, of playing for so many years and losing many matches... People normally, which is nice, look at your wins and victories, but then you also have to see how many matches you lost. I mean, I lost a lot of matches, a lot of tight matches, a lot of matches that gave me very hard time after.

But I'm not I would say regretting or feeling sorry about losing a match like it used to be the case. At earlier stages of my career I was more, say, trapped in that feeling of regret, like why I didn't do this or that.

Nowadays it just takes one night really to move on. I think that maturity of understanding yourself and really using those different techniques helps.

But, as I say, everyone is different. Whatever Daniil is doing is working, as well (smiling).

Q. Daniil briefly dropped out of the top 10. Now he's back with this three-week run. How important is it to have someone like him in the top 10? What does he bring to the table? What value does Daniil add to the sport?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: He's a former No. 1 and a Grand Slam winner. Anyone that won a Grand Slam, was No. 1 in the world, has a huge value. Every time he steps out on the court, an announcer is announcing his name, reading what he has achieved, having a Grand Slam title and No. 1 next to his game is a huge deal for our sport.

He's also a guy that I like. We have always a great relationship throughout our careers. Ever since he was a junior, I remember him coming up. Always try to be there, help him out in the early days. Not so much today as we are rivals (smiling).

But he has grown to be one of the most important players in the world in the last five-plus years. His place is definitely top 10 - top five I would say.

But it happens. We all have some drops. We all have periods where maybe we're not playing or feeling our best.

It was just a matter of time when he's going to be a contender for Grand Slam titles. He is a contender for Grand Slam titles, no doubt. We can never underestimate Daniil.

Q. Rafa is going to drop out of the top 10 for the first time since 2005. What do you make of that statistic?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: It's incredible consistency. He has been well-known for that over the years. Yeah, just full respect for him. Just being able to for almost 20 years be in top 10, that's unheard of, honestly. It speaks about the quality of the tennis, just his consistency throughout the year, playing well on all surfaces.

Plus with the injuries, he had quite a few injuries that took him out from the tour, even sometimes for almost six months, but he still managed to stay there at the top.

'Chapeau' for that.

Q. Having a family and everything you've achieved, does that give you perspective or shift your priorities?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Yes, of course. As I answered previously, it takes one night. Of course, now I'm not probably the most social guy. I don't like to see people at the moment. I want to be by myself. But already tomorrow we're moving on.

I take every tournament, every match very seriously, dedicate my whole life to this. So, of course, it hurts when you lose. I care about every match. But at the same time you just have to release it and go forward.

As you mentioned, I have family, of course. I have family in good and bad times. But this is something that is related to my profession, to tennis, to what I do. Try to do it in the best possible way and bring also some good feelings to the people that watch me play.

I really want to keep on playing. Good thing about tennis is that you always have in the calendar another opportunity. So many tournaments. Basically every week you have another chance to reconcile, so to say, with the tennis, rewrite your history once again.

I'm looking forward for the challenges to come.