THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

July 2, 2024

Novak Djokovic

Press Conference

N. DJOKOVIC/V. Kopriva

6-1, 6-2, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Novak, must feel good to get that win under your belt.

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: It does. Practice week, as I was mentioning before, went great. Obviously match play, official match on the Centre Court, something completely different.

I didn't know how I'm going to feel on the court and how knee is going to hold up. But very happy, very happy with the way I felt, with the way I played, with the way I moved. For an opening match, I couldn't ask for a better start.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. I noticed Ronnie O'Sullivan was in your box.

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Yes.

Q. Are you a big snooker fan, and do you know the Rocket?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I'm his fan. I watch snooker just because of him. I watched when I was a kid. Honestly, I watched him play many years ago. My father loved watching snooker. I only watched Ronnie. Whenever he would not play, I would not watch. We just had a meet-up, an interaction for the first time. It was great.

He was one of the sport greats I used to watch when I was a kid. It was really nice to have him around. Hopefully we're able to play some snooker 'cause I'm really bad at snooker. I'm okay at pool or billiard, but snooker, I tried it twice, and it's really, really tough.

Yeah, it's amazing. He's a really, really nice person, nice guy, and very funny.

Q. Can you compare what you're managing today in terms of any kind of limitations versus what you managed in the last match in Paris? I know you had pain there. Something completely different. Can you compare those two experiences?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Not really comparable because the surface is different. Obviously, the sensation on the court was different. The different opponent, obviously. Cerundolo on clay, very tough challenge, even if you're healthy.

Different circumstances really. I didn't have any kind of pain that I had in that match today. So that's good. Yeah, obviously started a little bit more cautious, I would say. I didn't really maybe go for certain shots 100% in terms of, like, the far balls at the first set.

I played I think just enough to win confidently in straight sets. I felt like as the match progressed, I moved better. Those couple points I think when I broke him in the second set, I did one slide. That was the first slide of the grass court season for me. I haven't done it even in a practice week. So that was a great test.

After that, I felt happy that I did it because in a way you also feel mentally hesitant to do those extreme movements. But knowing that I can do it is, obviously, very comforting and very positive.

Q. Regarding Andy, can you summarize your relationship with him over the last two decades, any standout memories?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Obviously, very sad news for the tournament and for the tennis world to hear that he withdrew from the singles event here in Wimbledon. I hear that he's going to try to play doubles.

I mean, hopefully he can get another shot at next year's Wimbledon with singles. Knowing him, he's going to try to do that.

Just incredible resilience throughout all his career. Multiple Grand Slam winner. Legend of the game. No. 1 in the world. Going to play challenger circuit to build his rankings on clay, his least favorite surface, says a lot about his character.

Just huge inspiration to all the players. Doesn't mind getting out on the court for hours every day. Incredible professional. Just his approach is something to study, no doubt.

His will to push and see how far he can go, even with an artificial hip, is something that is just inspiring but also serves as a great example I think to a lot of the athletes, younger ones, that start to complain about this and that.

So he has left a great mark on and off the court, no doubt, for the tennis. But something tells me, again, that he will keep going.

He deserves, of course, he has every right to say when it's the finish line for him. If he wants to keep going, no doubt that people will be very happy about it.

Q. The knee sleeve, it looked gray from the crowd.

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: 'Gray' or 'great'?

Q. It looked the color gray.

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: It is.

Q. With the Wimbledon all-white policy, were you nervous about the color of the knee sleeve?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I did check. I actually just met chairwoman just before walking onto the court. She gave me thumbs up, so it was okay.

Of course, we did check in the days prior if we have a permission. We're trying to find a white one, trust me.

I saw Frances Tiafoe played, he had actually a black color sleeve. Gray, I think it's maybe slightly better towards the white.

Yeah, I know it's not ideal. I like to go all white and I like to respect the rules. But I got the permission. I said to them that I will give our best for next match the white one.

Q. You're playing Jacob Fearnley, a British player in the next round. Do you know anything about him, seen him hit?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: No, no, I haven't seen him hit. I don't know really anything about him. So I'll have to do my homework.

I know he was granted a wild card to play in the tournament. So yeah, I'll definitely analyze his match of today and see what I'm up against. Obviously him being British, he's going to have the crowd. You never like to play British in Wimbledon.

But, you know, I'm looking forward. For me, it's just about really maintaining this good sensation, good feelings on the court, getting my body and knee in shape to sustain the high level of potential five sets. That's what matters the most.