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BNP PARIBAS OPEN

March 20, 2009

Novak Djokovic

INDIAN WELLS, CALIFORNIA

A. RODDICK/N. Djokovic
6-3, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Andy was too tough today. What was wrong with your game and why this loss?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, overall it was a very bad day. There's not much to say. He played very solid. I mean, he didn't do anything special. It was all me making incredible amount of unforced errors.

Q. Usually we see you play with a lot of emotion. Today none of that.
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Yeah, I don't know. It's tough to explain, really. It's just one of the days when you really don't feel comfortable on the court.

Q. After you lost the first set, was there something that you tried to adjust in the second set to try and regain the momentum?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I just didn't have any momentum on the court. No feel for the ball, no movement. Just no solutions.
Once I started to -- actually, I wasn't patient in any stages of the match. I tried to put some first serves in, but it wasn't going in. Just overall, not even one shot was, serving.

Q. You're obviously very down and disappointed. When was the last time you ever felt like that on a tennis court?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I don't know. It's hard to remember, really. This was one of the worst matches, certainly, I played.

Q. Novak, incredibly hot day. Could you talk about the heat, please.
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, I didn't -- I don't think heat was concerning me or him. It was same for both of us.
It was just something else. It was some other reasons, as I said. It's just hard to explain. The heat, okay -- I mean, you can't expect perfect days, because we're playing in the desert, and this time of the year it's even pretty fine weather, considering the fact that it's not summer, still.
But, again, I've played in these conditions many times before, so I didn't feel any physical breakdown. It was just mental.

Q. You travel with the PR, and I was wondering, is that something that you really need, a buffer? How does it help you traveling with a PR?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, it helps, because there is obviously a lot of requests if you're a successful athlete, in general. This is something that helps out a lot.

Q. You're still chasing Rafa and Roger at the top. You have Andy coming up from below. Can you talk a little bit about the past you've had with Andy? You both almost came to the top 10 at the same time. You got there first. Talk about that a little bit.
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, look, he's a great player. He improved a lot in the last seven, eight months, a year. I think the breakthrough was the Wimbledon quarterfinals, and then he just started playing really well.
He plays great tennis on hard courts, so I'm sure he has great chances in this tournament and in the future. So we can expect from him a lot. He was struggling with injuries, but now he's fit.

Q. On a similar theme, you're going to lose some ranking points here, and Andy will gain some. Do you think it's going to be close between you two this year for the No. 3 spot?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Look, it's going to be close. Who knows? It's just the start of the season. I'm not concerned about that. It's just something else which is bothering me: My game today, not rankings.

End of FastScripts

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