THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

July 8, 2024

Novak Djokovic

Press Conference

N. DJOKOVIC/H. Rune

6-3, 6-4, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Another quarterfinals at Wimbledon. How are you feeling?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Good. Great match on my end. I think Holger didn't really play in his expected level. I think he would say better.

I would say I also made him uncomfortable on the court in terms of being very solid from the baseline and serving well in important moments.

Yeah, there were couple of games when I was serving for the set, second set and the third set, I think 3-2 up, where I saved some break points where he had chances to shift the momentum to his side.

I think I played some good points. Yeah, just really glad to overcome the challenge that is always great challenge to play against Holger in straight sets.

I feel good about my tennis. There's always something to improve, something to work on, but it's all been going in the right direction.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Is it fair to say at this point in your career you're the most relaxed you've been on and off court from a tennis aspect?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Not really. I mean, I do enjoy my time with my family, with my kids, for example. I had some really nice time with my daughter yesterday on-site. I try to mix things up, try to in those off days when I don't have matches, yes, practice, but also get my mind off tennis a little bit and enjoy the quality time with the close ones.

But the tension and the pressure and the stress is really high, as high as it always has been.

Q. You were obviously wound up by the crowd. Do you think it's time for Wimbledon to take action against crowd members who step over the line, to stop them from stepping over the line?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Look, I don't know what Wimbledon can really do about it. I mean, in those particular moments when it happens, the crowd paid their tickets. They have the right to be there and cheer the way they want to cheer. That's absolutely something they choose how they behave or how they choose to support the player is really up to them.

Yes, you could argue maybe a chair umpire or whoever can step in in certain moments and calm them down, but there's not much you can do. You're not going to take out the whole section of the crowd or stadium because they're misbehaving or showing disrespect.

It's just the way it is. It's part of the sport. It's actually one of the biggest reasons why we are here, why the tournament is so important historically and why we were globally recognized as tennis players, is because of the fans, because of the interest that they put into watching tennis matches, paying tickets, queuing to come. I respect that. I try to acknowledge that.

I said that on the court. All the true tennis fans that respect players, of course, you're going to support one player or the other. It's obviously solely up too them. It's fully understandable that they have the freedom to choose who they back in the match.

But if somebody steps over the line, I react. That's basically what it was. After the match I said what I said.

Q. You play Alex de Minaur in the quarterfinal. Can you talk about him? He says you are such a supreme mover.

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Sorry, a what?

Q. Supreme mover. What do you see in him as a challenge?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I take that as a compliment, but he probably is the quickest mover we have on the tour, if not the quickest guy on the tour. I mean, he has improved so much I think in the last year and a half really.

I played him in the fourth round of Australian Open last year, 2023. I played a terrific match really. But from that match until today, watching his progress, seeing him get into top 10, is not a surprise really.

I mean, he's always had that speed. He's always had that incredible defense and really crafty hands on all the surfaces, particularly the quicker ones. I mean, Lleyton Hewitt is in his corner, a mentor and a coach and someone that has been with him for many years. I think it's a great matchup because they mesh well together because of the styles of play.

I mean, Lleyton played quite similar to Alex. So I've seen him only going in the right direction in terms of the improvement of his game.

I think his serve became a weapon. That maybe wasn't the case before. He takes the ball so early. He's not a afraid to come to the net. He's a great all-around player.

He's now established in the top 10, 15 in the world. He also has plenty of experience in playing on a big stage the latter stages of Grand Slams. I'm sure he's going to come out on the court giving his all and believing he can win. He already beat me this year in Australia, so there's no reason why he wouldn't think that he can win that match.

But obviously Grand Slam is a whole different game, I guess, but I like my chances. I like the way I'm playing, particularly tonight against a tough opponent. So I look forward to it.

Q. You slipped a few times today. How do you feel about the courts? There's been a lot of players slipping, injuries throughout the whole grass season.

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I'm personally feeling good. I mean, the knee has been really - knock on wood - really good. I did not react negatively to those few slips that I had today.

But it was quite odd and strange that it happened in the same game three times or so that I slipped. I haven't been slipping, I would say, as much as I would normally slip on grass over the years. I was not falling that much, to be honest. Maybe today was, what, three times. In the previous matches, one or two times. I've been pretty pleased with that.

It's probably part of my, I guess, different kind of movement on the court that I've been really experimenting with because of the cautiousness because of the knee and everything that was happening prior to the tournament.

The first couple rounds I was still not maybe willing to go on extreme balls and slide and make splits, but last few matches I've done it. Today I had couple splits that nothing really hurt me, so I'm really glad. That's on a positive note.

Look, once you close the roof, it feels like we've been playing an indoor grass court tournament here more than outdoor, to be honest. I played every single match basically indoor. We are blessed to have the roof, don't get me wrong, particularly on the two big courts that we can play out our matches and also the other matches on the outside courts are not played. I feel the frustration of the players obviously because you get interrupted many times during the day. Obviously it's not something you can affect. The rain is there, it's there.

But once you close the roof, you know that the grass is going to be more slippery. So there's more chances that players will fall. Unfortunately some of the falls have caused some of the players to withdraw, like Dimitrov yesterday. We saw Zverev as well in his previous match slightly injured his knee. That was troubling him even today.

Yeah, it's part of this surface. You can't really change that. I mean, it's grass. It's a live surface, and it reacts to different conditions, the humidity, et cetera.

Q. More than half the men and women left have never won a Grand Slam title, seeking their first. Going back many, many years, many trophies, can you remember what it felt like to win that first and what you think changed the most for you with getting Grand Slam title number one?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: It was back in 2008. I won Australian Open. That was my first Grand Slam title. Obviously the first Grand Slam title is always the most special one. It kind of was breaking the ice for me in a way.

But it took me another three years to win a second one. I did struggle those three years to understand, to kind of see what it takes to win against particularly Nadal and Federer that were dominating the sport and the game and winning basically all the Grand Slams at that point.

But I learned the hard way I guess through the rivalries with these two guys. Was basically improving my game, bettering myself also on the court mentally I think and really maturing and evolving as a person, as a player, and getting stronger as the time was passing by.

There were some key moments really in my career that really served as a great trigger in a positive way. For example, the Davis Cup title with Serbia end 2010 was a huge momentum for me. I felt wind in my back. I felt like I had wings after that because bringing the first Davis Cup to Serbia ever was something extremely special, in front of our crowd in Belgrade.

After that, I probably had one of if not the best season of my life. Won 40-plus matches in a row, three slams out of four. That's really where I became a different player, I would say. That's where I started believing that I deserved to be on the top, that I can be better than Federer, Nadal.

They're different challenges, or so to say, different levels of achievements in our sport. Obviously the big one is how to win a slam. Then an even bigger one is how to be No. 1. Then even a bigger one is how to be winning multiple slams. Then even a bigger one is how to do that for years and be the No. 1 player in the world for multiple years.

Most of the players don't achieve that in the course of their careers. I've been very blessed to be in that position. I'm very proud of all the achievements, but I do know how difficult it is to climb to the top.

Like Zverev, for example, is a very good example. When you see his results, when you see his game, all he has done so far in the sport, he definitely deserves a Grand Slam title, right? But he was so close against Dominic Thiem in US Open. Played finals this year. He was up against Alcaraz in the finals of Roland Garros. Many times semis. Just edging closer and closer.

It's not easy. It's not easy. The longer it goes without you winning a slam title, the more you think about it. The more this pressure mounts on you every time you're in that situation where, Okay, I'm playing for the title again. Then you start doubting yourself.

It's a huge icebreaker when you manage to win the first one. For players like Dominic Thiem, for example, when he won his Grand Slam, only Grand Slam, after that he couldn't maintain that level for too long. Unfortunately injuries caught up with him.

It's unfortunate to have a player like that also not being able to be consistent with his level. He's a player that could have won easily multiple slams. On clay court, as well.

You have unbelievable players that never won a slam, but they deserved to do. It's just that Grand Slams are whole different animals in comparison to other tournaments.