{Shanghai} Shanghai ATP Masters 1000 [10.10.09 - 18.10.09]

Conférence
(après 1/4 de Finale contre Gillou)

Q. The racquet smashing seemed to help clear the head a little bit,
because you then didn't lose a game after that. But it was intense all
the way through, wasn't it?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Yeah, kind of sounds
strange, but you're right, you know. Most of the time when I smash the
racquet the things go better from then on. I don't know.

Q. And the moral for the story?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Yeah, exactly. Exactly. I don't know if it's moral or
not what I did, but anyway, it was the positive thing is that I managed
to find a good solution after, after so many ups and downs from both
sides. And very emotional, very intensive match.

Q. We rarely ever see a guy's match that has six service breaks in a set. What was going on there?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, it's crazy. You know, it's crazy, really. The
surface is very slow, first of all, and if you're not serving as
Ljubicic or Karlovic or these guys, then you will struggle a little
bit, especially if you have across your net Simon or Nadal. You know,
these guys were returning really well.
I found that I returned as
well quite good, so it was kind of advantage for the return player
today. But I managed to break through mentally, just tried to push
myself and convince myself to be aggressive and don't get to the long
rallies for no reason.
That's what I did. I played quite smart from 2 All in the third set.

Q. Was that the toughest match you've had for the last two weeks in China?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, it's certainly one of the toughest, yeah. You
know, Gilles is one of the trickiest players on the tour, because he
always gets an extra ball back and you have to earn every point.
You know, he might look, you know, a bit strange the way he moves and
plays, but he's not an easy opponent at all. His quality proves
everything in last year and a half.
I was well aware of the match
that we will have and we had in the past. We basically every match we
had in last year and a half was like this. I keep on winning and keep
on playing those good shots in important moments, and I think that's
what matters.
I think I was quite nervous throughout the whole match, because I knew that I would have to work hard for most of the points.


Q. It would be easy for someone in your situation who's already
qualified for London, and you've won a title last week, to not take
your foot off the gas, but I don't think anyone would expect you to be
out of your skin the whole time. That's just not your character.
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: No, I mean, look, we're all professionals. In every
match we play, we want to win. That's the sport we're in. That's our
job. That's our life. You know, there's many benefits from a win.
(laughter.)
Regardless if it's 250 event or Grand Slam, I try to
give my maximum always, and I'm really happy that I've gained the
momentum in the last two months. It's important, you know, just prior
to Bercy and London, which is the most important event in this period
of the year. And, as you said, I mean, I qualified already, but that
doesn't change anything in my approach to the tournaments that I have
now.

Q. Simon said earlier that every time you beat him in a
tournament you go on and win the championships. What's your assessment
for this championship after winning the China Open?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC:
I hope he's right every time. (laughter.) Yeah, we have a good
relationship. He's a great guy, very funny guy.
You know, I don't
know if he told you about the socks. I mean, I borrowed him socks a
couple of days ago. So, yeah, I mean, look, we always have long
matches, interesting matches for the crowd, and I think that's what the
people want. They want to see long rallies, long matches.
They want
to see somebody breaking the racquet like I did today and just
screaming all over the place and making a fool of myself, but I guess
this is sport.

Q. 1 to 10, how do you rate your service game today? It not seemed that well.
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, in the first three games in the third set, 0.5.
(laughter.) And after, generally was 1.2, probably. (laughter.)


Q. Do you enjoy playing guys like Gilles? And if yes, are there other
players which you particularly enjoy matching up with? Because it seems
as though you're nervous, but seems as though you're really having a
good time out there.
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: The
only enjoyment I have is when I'm up a match point and I see the guy
cannot reach my ball when I win. That's the only enjoyment I have.
I don't play enjoy playing anybody, because I got to put an effort in
every match, and everybody's playing tennis today, you know. You know,
in order to stay at the level I am right now, I will have to beat all
these guys. I do enjoy playing tennis, but I don't enjoy playing my
opponents.

Q. But what I meant was the style of his game. Do you find that it is a fun style to match up against?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: No.

Q. So you don't enjoy playing tennis?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: No. I told you I enjoy playing tennis, but I don't
enjoy playing anybody on the tour, and especially Gilles who gets
always balls back and wins some impossible points.

Q. How do
you think about a semifinal? You will play Davydenko again. Last year
you play him in the Masters Cup final, so what do you think about this?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Um, I hope I will repeat the same success I had Masters
Cup last year against him. You know, it's kind of a deja vu, playing
with Simon semis and him in finals. So many years on the tour, Nikolay,
and very aggressive player and takes the ball very early.
So I will
have to have good tactics tomorrow and just be ready for aggression
from the other side of the net and hope I will have patience and I'll
be wise enough to win.

[fo off]

SHANGHAI ATP MASTERS 1000

[10 - 18 Octobre 2009]

★

SITE OFFICIEL :
http://www.shanghaimasters1000.com/2009/en/

★

TABLEAU :
(simple)
http://www.atpworldtour.com/posting/2009/5014/mds.pdf

★

PRINCIPAUX JOUEURS PRÉSENTS :

Rafael NADAL
Novak DJOKOVIC
Juan Martin DEL POTRO
Andy RODDICK
Jo Wilfried TSONGA
Nikolay DAVYDENKO
Fernando VERDASCO
Gilles SIMON

★

AJDE NOLE !