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ROGERS CUP MENAugust 10, 2012Novak DjokovicTORONTO, ONTARIO N. DJOKOVIC/S. Querrey 6‑4, 6‑4 (3rd round) N. DJOKOVIC/T. Haas THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. You changed your T‑shirt after you lost the second set. Is that a superstition? You change from white to black. NOVAK DJOKOVIC: No. Q. How much of a challenge was it to play him tonight playing the second match of the day? NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I mean, Tommy is a great player. After years of injuries and surgeries, he comes back very strong, very fit, plays really well on faster surfaces. He made a couple really good wins here and he was on the roll, so it was a really tough match. For me, a long two days. Definitely not the best time of the day for me to play a match. I'm still very jet lagged. I don't know how I found a way. I think I was fighting very hard, and that's the positive of tonight's match. That's why I won, I think. Q. Getting a chance to play your fellow countryman Tipsarevic, what's that like for you? He said you know each other really intimately as players and friends. NOVAK DJOKOVIC: It's never easy, you know, but we are professionals. We try to win the match whoever is across the net. Yeah, we do know each other really well. We met first time probably 12, 15 years ago back in Serbia, and he was the best junior in the world and one of the players I was looking up to, you know. I'm very glad that he managed to come to top 10. He's playing probably best tennis of his life in last 15 months. So we'll see. You know, it all depends how fast I will recover from this day. Q. Just to follow up, you said you looked up to him. Obviously he's a little bit older than you. Maybe the relationship's changed a little bit with all the success you've had. He said you set the mark for him. How do you think your relationship has changed since you initially met 15 years ago? NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Look, we stay friends. Regardless what happens on the court, whoever wins the match, we stay friends. We know each other so well. He's one of my best friends definitely off the court. I spend a lot of time with him and with the rest of the Davis Cup team. But as I said, when you step on the court, it's a semifinals of a Masters event, so we both want to win. Q. Do you feel things are catching up with you at the moment after all the hype and emotion of London and traveling over here and the time changes? NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I'm fighting it. I'm fighting it. It's not easy, but I'm fighting it. Q. It must be a while since you played off this stadium. There was a lot of atmosphere tonight and interaction with the fans ‑ some good, some bad. What was it like? NOVAK DJOKOVIC: It was definitely interesting, you know, in whatever sense you want to take that. But, yeah, you know, as I said, it's been a very long day. I don't want say it would maybe be different if I played on stadium, but I haven't played on that Grandstand for a long time. Took me time to get used to it, the atmosphere and everything. Fortunately I played well when I needed to. Q. What's the one thing Tipsarevic does that gives you trouble that you know about? NOVAK DJOKOVIC: He's very aggressive, you know. He started believing in himself, in his ability on the court, and that's why he became a top‑10 player. He always had qualities to be out there, but he was couple years struggling to find that mental strength on the court. I believe with a couple big scalps in the last 15 months and big wins, he managed to get there. So, yeah, I'm sure he's going to go for his shots. I will have to be aware of that. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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