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SONY OPEN TENNIS


March 21, 2014


Novak Djokovic


MIAMI, FLORIDA

N. DJOKOVIC/J. Chardy
6‑4, 6‑3


THE MODERATOR:  Questions, please.

Q.  Other than your haircut, what's changed since last week?  You seemed a little bit different on the court in terms of body language and some other stuff.
NOVAK DJOKOVIC:  In what way?

Q.  You kept your head up a little bit more.
NOVAK DJOKOVIC:  Uh‑huh.

Q.  I mean, last week sometimes ‑‑I don't want to get‑‑ don't want to you to get creeped out about how closely I was watching last week, but sometimes you were keeping your head down.  You had just different facial expression.
NOVAK DJOKOVIC:  Well, I don't feel too much difference.  I mean, it's obviously different conditions that I'm playing on here in Miami from Indian Wells.  It's more humid and it takes a little bit of time to get used to, you know, those conditions and center court.
The ball bounce, the balls themselves, everything is different.  So that's why the first matches are always tricky.  And especially when you have an opponent who goes for his shots as Jeremy did today.
But it's a straight‑set win, and when I was supposed to play my best and come up with some good serves and good shots, that's what I have done in both sets.  What matters the most to me.

Q.  Rafa has said today that he would like to play in a Masters 1000 tournament in Latin America.  Do you agree with him?  Would you like to play there?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC:  In South America?

Q.  In South America, Latin America, Brazil.
NOVAK DJOKOVIC:  Sure.  I mean, that's one of the options for the future.  Obviously we know that in our sport it's not as simple to change things around, especially with the Masters events because the contracts which are owned by the tournaments individually are usually for, you know, dozens and dozens of years.  It takes a lot of time.
I guess the process itself is very complicated to switch from one place to another.  But South America with tradition in tennis over the years and the amount of tournaments and passion for the tennis deserves to have a big event like this.

Q.  How do you see your opponents right now?  How do you see your main opponents, the shape they're in right now?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC:  Well, my next opponent is Dodig or Mayer.  That's the only opponent I'm thinking about.  The other guys, all the best players in the world are playing here.
It's just start of the tournament.

Q.  After your win on Sunday, you spoke about how important the Masters tournaments are.  Obviously you get a thousand points as opposed to the 2,000 from the slams, but do you think you can have a good season like you had back in 2011 when you sort of dominated?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC:  Every season is a different challenge, different season.  I can't compare in a year because just a different person ‑‑tennis is not the only thing in my life.
I have family, I have private life, and there are things that are happening there.  So you can't really kind of exclude what is happening in your private life from professional life.
It all affects the court and your results and your career in general.  I'm happy with my career so far; 27 this year, and hopefully I have many more years to come.
I love this sport.  I just love going out and I enjoy competing.  I enjoy, you know, playing the tournaments over and over again, you know, trying to win as many titles as possible, trying to, you know, strive for some kind of perfection, if there is a perfection in this sport, you know, always to get better.  We will see how far I can go.

Q.  How far will you go in this tournament?  How many wins?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC:  Well, I cannot predict anything.  You know, what is tomorrow is unknown.  The only thing I can try to live is today, in present moment.

Q.  I wanted to ask you a little about footwork.  It seems like one of those skills in tennis that people don't really pay attention to.  There is so much attention on the shots and the serve.
NOVAK DJOKOVIC:  Yeah.

Q.  Talk to me about how that part of your game has evolved and how much emphasis you put on it.  Is that something you train at or...
NOVAK DJOKOVIC:  Footwork is essential.  You touched the right subject.  If you want to hit the shot properly, you have to be in the right balance.
To be in the right balance, you need to have the right footwork and you need to try to adjust to the ball.
Obviously variety of surfaces require variety of footwork and adjustment in the same element.
I have been dedicating quite a lot of time on and off the court to that matter, and I have been fortunate with a team of people that I have.
I think they are experts in their fields, in their professions, and they are making sure I am, you know, developing that footwork, you know, regarding the place or the surface where I'm playing.
So I think it's very, very important, if not the most important thing.

Q.  Did you see what happened and did you know what happened at 5‑3?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC:  I haven't seen it on a replay on a screen, but I assume it was quite bad.  He twisted his ankle.  I talked with him after the match.  He's still in physio room, so he says it's not as bad as he thought.  But I wish him recovery.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports




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