Q. Earlier Daniil Medvedev said when he thinks of the big three, he considers you guys Cyborgs in a good way for what you've done for all these years. How would you describe the big three and what you've accomplished for more than 15 years and the evolution to keep fending off younger challengers?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: The Three Knights of Tennis (laughter).
Daniil, first of all, I have to say that he did really pleasantly surprise me with his kind words in the closing ceremony. Thank him for that. He's a great guy. He showed why. He's very humble, showed a lot of humility and respect. I mean, I think of him greatly on and off the court. On the court it just wasn't his day today, but he had a tremendous run and I'm sure we'll see more of him in the future.
Yeah, I don't know how else I would describe the three of us. I mean, I guess I'm not thinking about it in that way so much. Roger and Rafa inspire me. That's something that I've said before. I'll say it again. I mean, I think as long as they go, I'll go (smiling).
I think in a way it's, like, a race who plays tennis more, I guess, and who wins more. It's a competition between us in all areas. But I think that's the very reason why we are who we are, because we do drive each other, we motivate each other, we push each other to the limit.
Q. When you look back on the past 12 months, especially when you were hit by the COVID-19 and later injuries, finally you overcame them and achieved another milestone, what are your overall raw emotions after such a challenging year?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, year just started. The new season just started.
Last season was as it was, six months of no tennis in the middle of the season. I've been fortunate I think in my career to always start the seasons very well. I mean, nine years I managed to start with a win in Australia. That in a way sets the tone for the rest of the season for me.
It's why I love coming to Australia and I have always extra motivation to perform well in the Australian summer tournaments, especially Australian Open, because I know if I win here, then it just gives me huge wind in my sails for the rest of my year.
Yeah, it's very strange times. Crowd, no crowd, restrictions, quarantines. Every country, every tournament is different. It takes a lot of effort to adjust and to adapt mentally to that. It's not easy for players. You've seen a lot of injuries, and they actually came in the stomach, abdominal area, Berrettini, Dimitrov, even Dominic Thiem. So many players, top players as well, that are considered the fittest, kind of separate themselves from the rest of the players because they're so fit and ready. But this quarantine and these kind of circumstances has definitely had a toll on our bodies.
How the year is going to look like after that? We don't know. But it's definitely not ideal. But it is what it is. I think it's better to play, especially slams, than not to play at all.
Q. I'm sure you don't need any more motivation, but it seems you enjoy the battle of the generations, keeping the younger guys at bay. Is that something that kind of drives you?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Not really, to be honest. I don't source my motivation from there. I have a lot of respect for anybody really, young guys, older guys, whatever. They're all going through the hardship and the tough hours on the court, off the court, to be able to play at the highest level of tennis. So I have tremendous respect for anybody that is in the tennis shoes and competing at this level.
But, of course, I will say that there is a lot of quality in tennis from the younger guys that are coming up. I was mentioning before they're very close to start winning major titles more consistently.
But Roger, Rafa, myself are still there for a reason. We don't want to hand it to them and we don't want to allow them to win slams. I think that's something that is very clear. Whether you communicate that message or not, we are definitely sending that vibe out there. I'm sticking to that.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
http://www.asapsports.com/show_interview.php?id=162225Q. Earlier Daniil Medvedev said when he thinks of the big three, he considers you guys Cyborgs in a good way for what you've done for all these years. How would you describe the big three and what you've accomplished for more than 15 years and the evolution to keep fending off younger challengers?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: The Three Knights of Tennis (laughter).
Daniil, first of all, I have to say that he did really pleasantly surprise me with his kind words in the closing ceremony. Thank him for that. He's a great guy. He showed why. He's very humble, showed a lot of humility and respect. I mean, I think of him greatly on and off the court. On the court it just wasn't his day today, but he had a tremendous run and I'm sure we'll see more of him in the future.
Yeah, I don't know how else I would describe the three of us. I mean, I guess I'm not thinking about it in that way so much. Roger and Rafa inspire me. That's something that I've said before. I'll say it again. I mean, I think as long as they go, I'll go (smiling).
I think in a way it's, like, a race who plays tennis more, I guess, and who wins more. It's a competition between us in all areas. But I think that's the very reason why we are who we are, because we do drive each other, we motivate each other, we push each other to the limit.
Q. When you look back on the past 12 months, especially when you were hit by the COVID-19 and later injuries, finally you overcame them and achieved another milestone, what are your overall raw emotions after such a challenging year?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, year just started. The new season just started.
Last season was as it was, six months of no tennis in the middle of the season. I've been fortunate I think in my career to always start the seasons very well. I mean, nine years I managed to start with a win in Australia. That in a way sets the tone for the rest of the season for me.
It's why I love coming to Australia and I have always extra motivation to perform well in the Australian summer tournaments, especially Australian Open, because I know if I win here, then it just gives me huge wind in my sails for the rest of my year.
Yeah, it's very strange times. Crowd, no crowd, restrictions, quarantines. Every country, every tournament is different. It takes a lot of effort to adjust and to adapt mentally to that. It's not easy for players. You've seen a lot of injuries, and they actually came in the stomach, abdominal area, Berrettini, Dimitrov, even Dominic Thiem. So many players, top players as well, that are considered the fittest, kind of separate themselves from the rest of the players because they're so fit and ready. But this quarantine and these kind of circumstances has definitely had a toll on our bodies.
How the year is going to look like after that? We don't know. But it's definitely not ideal. But it is what it is. I think it's better to play, especially slams, than not to play at all.
Q. I'm sure you don't need any more motivation, but it seems you enjoy the battle of the generations, keeping the younger guys at bay. Is that something that kind of drives you?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Not really, to be honest. I don't source my motivation from there. I have a lot of respect for anybody really, young guys, older guys, whatever. They're all going through the hardship and the tough hours on the court, off the court, to be able to play at the highest level of tennis. So I have tremendous respect for anybody that is in the tennis shoes and competing at this level.
But, of course, I will say that there is a lot of quality in tennis from the younger guys that are coming up. I was mentioning before they're very close to start winning major titles more consistently.
But Roger, Rafa, myself are still there for a reason. We don't want to hand it to them and we don't want to allow them to win slams. I think that's something that is very clear. Whether you communicate that message or not, we are definitely sending that vibe out there. I'm sticking to that.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
http://www.asapsports.com/show_interview.php?id=162225