A week before Roland Garros, Novak Djokovic will play Serbia Open 2, a tournament held at SC “Novak” in Dorcol, and will certainly be the most resounding name of all participants.
On the eve of the start of the tournament, he talked to domestic and foreign journalists and once again pointed out how much his performance in his hometown means to him.
– It is always special to play in Serbia. It’s weird to have two tournaments so close to each other. Less than a month has passed since the Serbian Open, and this one came as a surprise to all of us, but Roland Garros was moved to Sunday. If it weren’t so, we would normally have one tournament. I think that the success of the nation in tennis also depends on the number of tournaments that are played in the country. Radio alone with the Federation to organize more futures, to help players have a full season of futures, that is the right way to move forward. The more of them, the less everything costs their families, there you are, in the places where you played, you earn points… It’s easier to break through. In the end, I am glad that I play here twice and that I am with my family more. I will be in a hotel in Paris, and here we can move, we are free after a while. You can follow the local government and the rules, here in Serbia, apart from the masks inside, we can move normally. We’re not in a balloon, which is great. You bring me more mental peace, joy that I am at home – Novak admitted.
He recently lost to Rafael Nadal in the final at the Masters in Rome. His goal is to come to Paris as ready as possible for the second Grand Slam of the season, and from there he reveals what he is working on these days.
– I am satisfied with how I played Rome, especially the final, after that Saturday when I played a lot of tennis. I could comfortably play for a few more hours, it especially satisfied me, that I am ready, that I can play in five sets. I subordinated everything to my game being at its peak in Paris. It’s about matches, working on specific details in the game that I can fix and tune for Paris. I want to shine there, it’s slag, it’s demanding. I am happy with how I am currently playing, I hope I can get to the end there – number one thinks.
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He says that there are no special preparations for the next slam.
– It is a daily fitness that concerns playing matches. No weightlifting, I have a program that I respect, tennis training, fitness… Adjusting details, certain exercises that activate certain muscles and stimulate the movements needed to be fast and more dynamic on the court.
Novak also says that many participants in the previous and current tournament are satisfied with the conditions in Belgrade.
– I am glad that everyone is satisfied with the tournament and the conditions. I got positive impressions, so I can’t be happier. I understand what they need, what they want to feel good. And not just them but their teams as well. We did everything in accordance with the protocols. They could not feel Belgrade in the right way, but I hope that next year they will feel it in a complete way. We are slowly developing a tennis academy, it will be in the winter, we are looking for a team of experts of all kinds. I have a very holistic approach to life and career and I try to transfer everything to this team. It is a complex project, but we are excited. We started the camp in November, December last year, there were 30 of them who trained for a few weeks, it was a great way to test methodologies, approaches that we want to have in the future. We heard a lot of positive things, I enjoyed it, those were the only two weeks I spent completely in the role of coach. I was with the young, I enjoyed it, tennis is my life and I love it, and the academy is a demanding program, but it is a legacy and something I want to dedicate myself to. Goran is one of the head coaches, also Viktor Toicki. We are upgrading the team, there is a lot of work, but it is exciting. We want to support tennis in Serbia and the Balkans. We have a lot of talent, especially in the last 20 years, Janko Tipsarevic also has an academy, he does a good job. Serbia is becoming the center of the tennis ecosystem in the area, which is wonderful – Novak said.
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