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WESTERN & SOUTHERN FINANCIAL GROUP MASTERS

August 19, 2010

Novak Djokovic

CINCINNATI, OHIO

N. DJOKOVIC/D. Nalbandian
6-1, 7-6

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Is being here in the final the last two years making you really want to win this tournament more?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Definitely. I have been very successful in United States hardcourts. I won both Indian Wells, Miami, and won Montreal. This is where I haven't won, so to complete that, I will try to win the title this year.
But, you know, it's still a long way. I was really happy with today's performance. I think it was better than yesterday. David is a great player; plays very fast. And considering the conditions, which are very fast here as well, it was not easy to stay in the point with him.
But I did, and managed to play well when I needed to in second set and went through.

Q. I'm gonna ask you about second serves for a story I'm working on. What do you do differently on your second serve? What's different about it, and why not just hit your first serve a second time?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, you would make more double faults, that's for sure. Um, well, you got to -- I guess you got to make more spin, you know, to be kind of more safe that you will put the second serve in. You always try to get some spin. So on these courts which get a lot of bounce, would serve you.
Sometimes I make variations with fast second serve, with slice. And depending on the situation, I guess depending on the player I play against.

Q. We've crunched a bunch of numbers, and you're one of I think six or eight players in the top 20 who over the long term would actually win more points on the second serve if you just hit it like your first serve. Now, of course, that doesn't take into account the different situations, the emotion of double fault.
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, it's hard, you know, to be mentally strong all the time to be able to hit two first serves. You know, it's not easy. Sometimes it's good, especially today. I mean, any time I was hitting second serve, I think I was losing more points than when I hit more spin or more kick. So then I would get a little shorter ball and I would be more comfortable in the point.
When you play somebody who's standing behind, couple meters behind the baseline, then, yeah, maybe it's good to hit a second serve maybe in the body. It's all decision-making at the certain moment. It's all part of the point.

Q. Are players afraid of double faults? What's so bad about a double fault necessarily? If you're gonna serve a ball and chances are you're gonna lose the point anyway...
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, look, if you lose the serve on this level, it's very hard to get it back, especially if you're playing against somebody that serves well on the fast courts.
Yes, you do have in your subconscious that you might make a double fault, so you just wan to go for safe shots; sometimes you want to go for fast shot.
As I said, it's really a question of the moment.

Q. In the tiebreak, it was obviously a lot hotter out and the conditions were a lot hotter than it was when you first started. Were you getting concerned about possibly going into the third set in the heat and that having an affect on your respiratory?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, it did have affect on both of us. We played a very intense second set, a lot of rallies and a lot of important moments. I was coming back from a 15-40 twice I think in 4-3 and 5-4, and then set points again in tiebreaker.
So, yeah, I mean, I was really mentally strong and calm when I needed to be. That was the key, I guess, in the second set.

Q. With Nalbandian, he impressed a lot of people winning a couple weeks ago, was it D.C.? And then last week he lost early. People are talking about him as a contender for the US Open. Do you think he's back to that level?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: He's definitely playing really well. He's back on a great level. He's playing Davis Cup extremely well for his country, winning some important matches, and playing great on hardcourts last couple of weeks.
The only question is physically if he can hold on. I guess he was struggling with injuries in the last couple of years. But he's one of the most talented players around. You can never underestimate his performance on any surface.

End of FastScripts

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