Novak Djokovic Press Conference | 2024 US Open Round 1

okay nov congratulations thank you because of time we'll go right to the uh studio audience yeah uh questions in English please yes in the back name and affiliation please inak wi for inside tennis uh congrats on your first round win the second round last year you played uh Jerry and it went all the way to five sets playing another Serbian how does it feel for your next round yeah it's it's great uh I saw him in the locker room and uh we congratulated each other uh it's it's a great win for him because he's been uh struggling a bit after his surgery uh to you know get to the desired level I guess he hasn't had many wins and this is a big win against Ru in the first round so congrats to him and um you know um it's it's great that I mean for Serbian tennis obviously that two of two of two Serbian players are facing each other it's a guaranteed third round uh for one of the Serbian guys hopefully it's going to be me but uh you know Jerry is uh is is is a guy that really likes playing on a big stage and I think he uh he also loves the conditions here you know it's bit quicker ball stays low and he has a very flat backand particularly and very good serve great great return and he physically as fit as anybody so I remember very well our match it was a very tough match so uh I'm going to try to analyze that and you know hopefully do some things even better than I did last year Howard back Howard fendrich with the Associated Press you've obviously played a Million night matches uh here and elsewhere I'm wondering how do you prepare differently when you're going on court this late in the day as opposed to maybe an afternoon match and has that routine that you go through changed it all over the years and as you gain more experience with these well um I don't think the that aging helps really things so late um and playing playing very late I mean I I can feel you know my my my B is are low now I'm shutting down uh but it's it's been a long wait to be honest you know I thought I'm going to go out on the court like 85 p.m. because Stevens was six love three love serving and then all of a sudden it turns out to be a you know two and a half hour match or whatever so um yeah you just have to accept it I guess those are the instances where you're scheduled second after after 7 7:30 or whatever the start was I mean I like playing night matches but I love to start first um so yeah so hopefully I'll get more chances to play at night and schedule first you know so we can start at a more decent time and finish at a more decent time but uh you know I guess for the fans um there's something special about this late night finishes you know particularly post midnight um for us I don't know you know it's not it's not really what you want uh but you know if you get a w then it's all good I know um just curious what does it feel like to play your first uh hardcore match of this swing I guess at the US Open and and how far do you feel you are in your recovery with your knee like at what point would the knee covering come off yeah I think it was a solid start you know look I I struggled you know with my serve and and the Rhythm on certain shots but you know overall from the back of the court I thought I played pretty well uh it's it's always challenging to start you know particularly when you haven't played on the surface for you know five six months and coming off from Olympic gold and playing on Clay um haven't had any any official matches before yourself and so I'm expecting to be probably you know challenged a little bit more in the opening rounds and hopefully I can um hopefully I can I can play better each day you know the good thing about slams is you have a day between matches where you can train where you can really work on things and perfect your game uh that's what I need that's what I feel like I need so I'm going to hit the practice courts tomorrow and and work on things that haven't really worked in during the match and uh yeah keep striving to be better knee is fine really I haven't had any any issues uh throughout throughout the entire Olympic tournament and and here first round so knock on wood it's all good couple more in English Lucas we with the athletic high no back I'm sure you saw it was Dominic team's last major appearance today you guys have had some memorable matches over the years I'm just curious what made Dominic such a difficult opponent to play against and how he made you a better player well um I would like to congratulate him on a great grand slam career I know he's going to play I think he's home tournament or maybe one or few more of the tournaments I think that's where he's going to retire in in Vienna but um this is the only Grand Slam he has won he's played I think another three finals so uh just one of the nicest guys really on the tour uh for for many years he's been respected he's been admired he's been loved by by his peers by colleagues by everyone on the tour of course fans um you know he put in so much work over the years and I think he was a great example for many players that um see what's happening you know so to say behind the behind the scenes you know he always puts in the the extra work and uh tenacity and intensity that he brings on and off the court in everything he does with something really remarkable so um you know it's really unfortunate for a player of his caliber that was really almost on top of the world and you know being top top three top five player for for years to uh go through the injury of the wrist that really um uh yeah made him struggle and he was never a same player after that so it's it's unfortunate but again I I guess when he draws the line he can definitely be happy with with what he has achieved and uh he'll be he'll be remembered okay that concludes the English let's go to serban gentlemen