Novak Djokovic reveals his thoughts after beating Rafael Nadal in straight sets at the ATP World Tour Finals. The Serb is one win shy of tennis history, bidding to win the year-end championships for a record 4th time in a row. The Serb revealed how the wins at Wimbledon and the US Open are the achievements he is most proud of in 2015, because they came against the best player in history.
https://soundcloud.com/ubitennis/djokovic-victories-against-federer-the-best-matches-in-the-year-1
Novak Djokovic struggled in Round Robin action at the ATP World Tour Finals this year, only to find his best tennis back in time to keep his bid for a historic 4th consecutive title in London alive. The Serb outplayed Rafael Nadal in the semifinals, winning his 4th match in a row against the Spaniard, all wins coming in 2015 and all without losing a set. Tomorrow in the final the Serb will be the favourite to win the 11th title of a season that will surely go down in tennis’ history.
Speaking to the media after the win, the Serb was visibly satisfied with the result and the level of tennis he expressed on court on Saturday. Asked what makes him so much better than the rest, Novak simply said:
“Every player has his pros and cons. I feel like over the years I improved my transition from defence into offence. My serve improved as well. My serve worked very well today, giving me free points. I know I can rely on my defence, but I don’t want to be all the time at the back of the court. Matches against the top opponents are won playing aggressive. That is what I am focusing on now. The way I worked on transforming defence into attack has been my best improvement over the years”.
Novak is asked to use one word to describe his 2015 season:
“It is the best season of my life, regardless of the outcome of tomorrow’s match. There is always room for improvement and that is something that excites me, and keeps me going. I still feel like I want to do more and that I can do more. I hope my body and physical condition will allow me to do well next year as well and in the years to come”.
Nadal said the Serb right now is unbeatable. Novak revealed he doesn’t feel that way:
“I don’t feel unbeatable, but it feels great when I am playing the way I am playing today, when I feel like I am dictating the pace of the match itself, that I am on top of my opponent. There are not always great days, but the confidence helps the way you approach those moments. Winning the last 3 times against Rafa plays a major role in those match-ups, staying positive on low moments”.
With this win, Djokovic has tied the Head-2-Head record against Nadal.
“After 46 matches of professional tennis I have managed to tie my Head-2-Head with Nadal. At the initial stage of my career I wasn’t at his level, he was dominating tennis with Roger Federer. Playing so many times against Rafael has helped me to improve my stat. I have a chance against Roger tomorrow as well if he wins today. But it’s not really all about the Head-2-Head, but winning Grand Slam tournaments and important events.”
“Nadal and I played 46 times. It is normal that there are momentum swings. There are not many rational explanations for that. I think it’s more a player getting the mental edge over the other once he manages to win two matches in a row or more.”
Despite not playing a great percentage of first serves on court, the Serb had an exceptional day on serve against Nadal today.
“Even when I was missing first serves, with a good second serve I felt I would still have a good chance against Nadal at the back of the court. Even though he played very well this week. I managed to do the things I intended to do today.”
Next for the Serb, in his bid to a historic 4th straight title in London, there will be a Swiss opponent as Federer and Wawrinka will step on court later today to face off one another.
“I lost 3 times against Roger this year. When he is on, it is hard to play against him. He likes to play agianst me, because he likes to mix up the shots and take the time away from his opponent. Hopefully I will be able to play better than I against him few days ago. Today’s match helps me to believe I can do it.”
“Stan has been playing the best tennis of his life in the past 2 years, beating all top players. He beat me in the French Open final. I am going to face a Swiss tomorrow for sure, let’s see who that is going to be”.
What was Novak’s personal highlight of the season, if he could choose one?
“I have had some matches where I played flawless incredible tennis. Wimbledon and US Open finals were the highlights of the year for me. Winning those 2 Grand Slam titles against the best player in history stands out as the best achievement in the year. But there will be more matches to remember of this season”.
https://soundcloud.com/ubitennis/djokovic-victories-against-federer-the-best-matches-in-the-year
