Mission 25e titre du Grand Chelem et 11e à l'Open d'Australie pour Novak Djokovic. Le Serbe, qui lance une nouvelle aventure avec Andy Murray, a pris le temps de se préparer pour arriver en forme à son objectif. Nole n'a pas été verni avec cette possibilité d'affronter Carlos Alcaraz dès les quarts. Avant cela, Djoko lancera son tournoi contre Nishesh Basavareddy, jeune américain brillant ces dernières semaines. En conférence de presse, le 7e mondial, battu dès les quarts par Reilly Opelka à Brisbane, son seul tournoi de préparation, est revenu sur son histoire avec Melbourne et ses débuts avec coach Murray.
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00:00Nowak, welcome back to the Australian Open. We just had an interview where they reminded
00:10you that 20 years ago it was your first time here. How does it feel to be back with 10
00:15titles?
00:16Yeah, it's a 20-year anniversary, I guess, this year, and it's a nice number of years
00:22that I've been coming to Australia, the place where I had the greatest Grand Slam success.
00:31Back in 2005, it was the first time I qualified for any Grand Slam and played Marat Safin
00:36on the centre court, and it was a pretty quick match for me. He later on won the tournament,
00:44but it was a very unique experience that allowed me to dream big and keep on believing
00:53that I can one day win a Slam. Three years later, I won my first Slam on the same court,
01:00so just lovely memories. I always try to relive those moments, and it's a pleasure to be back.
01:10Nowak, Danish media here. In a couple of weeks, you're going to Denmark to Copenhagen with
01:16the Davis Cup team to play Hulk Aruna and the other Danish player. It's obviously a
01:22very big deal in Denmark. We don't have any ATP tournaments, and you are becoming one
01:26of the world's biggest stars. How much do you look forward to going to Copenhagen and
01:30to play that Davis Cup tie against Denmark?
01:32Well, I hope I'll be there. The plan is now I'm in the team, but because it's only a few
01:38days after the Australian Open finals, we have to see how I play here, how I feel. Hopefully,
01:44I can be available to our captain and play. Holger and I get along very well off the court.
01:54We played against each other quite a few times in different tournaments. Obviously, it's
02:02great for Denmark sport and for Denmark tennis that Holger is there and is doing well the
02:09last few years. He's climbing up the rankings and working his way to have an even better
02:16career in the future. He actually sent me a photo of the arena because he was playing
02:21with Ruud in one of the exhibition matches a few weeks ago. Once the draw came out, he
02:26was actually there training in the arena, so he sent me a photo and said,
02:30we're waiting for you here at the end of January, beginning of March. That would be amazing
02:38if we get a chance to face each other there.
02:45The new coaching partnership between Andy Murray and yourself took the tennis world
02:49by storm. What do you expect or see such an accomplished player and former rival bring
02:54to your game as a coach?
02:57Well, it's a pleasure and honor to have Andy as a coach. I was thinking about the names
03:06that I would like to have next to me for this season. I wanted to have somebody that won
03:17multiple slams and the list is not that long. Somebody that really understands what it means
03:24to win a slam, what it means to face the adversity, the pressure, the expectations.
03:34Andy just finished his playing career six months ago, so it was somewhat of a surprise
03:42for him when I called him. But I think his tennis IQ is very high, we all know that.
03:51He has done an incredible job, particularly after he got the surgery and his artificial
03:59hip and winning tournaments after that. Playing on a challenger level, someone that is a legend
04:07of the sport and just showing everyone what it means to be a champion in the real sense
04:11of that word. So he really has inspired myself and a lot of people around the world.
04:21And I think that his unique perspective on my game is the fact that he has played me
04:27for 25 years. The first time we faced each other was when we were 12 years old, so he
04:36knows the evolution of my game, the weaknesses and strengths of my game. He also knows the
04:46tennis game of the biggest players in the world right now, because he has just recently
04:51retired as a player. So he was practicing and also playing against all the best guys
04:59in the world up to recently, so he's up to speed with what's happening on the tour.
05:08We're just still getting to know each other on the court. We spent eight days in the pre-season
05:14period and now the last four days here in Melbourne. He gives me motivation, inspires
05:24me really to be spending time on the court. We communicate a lot, we talk about a lot
05:31of different things. He's trying to understand me on different levels, speaking to other
05:36team members that know me better. So he's very meticulous, he's very dedicated, professional.
05:47So far I've been enjoying this collaboration.
05:52I'm Jackson from Tennis Australia. You've obviously had so much success here, it goes
05:57without saying. I'm going to ask one of those cliché questions, but if you had to pick
06:03one moment over your 20-year time here, what would be your best memory or your favourite
06:10memory here at Melbourne Park?
06:15I guess the first time is always the most special one, so winning 2008, my first slam
06:22here overall, first slam in my career and first slam here in Australia. And then probably
06:29the last slam I won here in 2023. Each win is special and unique in its own way, so it's
06:39kind of hard for me to pick, but if I have to it will be the first and the last one.
06:44You had a teenager last year in the first round, Dino. He was a tough opponent, he gave
06:50you a tough challenge. You are up against another teenager this year, Nishesh. Any comments
06:57on how you see him as an opponent?
07:02To be honest, I don't know much about him. I watched him play in the Premier League,
07:07I think he's playing semi-finals of the New Zealand tournament now, so I saw that he's
07:13very quick, he's a very talented player, he's got great hands, he's very dynamic, he can
07:20serve well in his spots and just a very completed game overall.
07:29I mean, I don't know. I don't know what to say. I don't know what to say. I don't know
07:34what to say. It's going to be his first time in the main draw of the Grand Slam, white
07:45cards, playing on the centre court, so not much to lose. I'm sure that he is going to
07:50be really pumped to make a statement. I have to obviously approach that match very seriously
07:57like any other and do my best to get a win and also in the process enjoy the nice moment
08:04of sharing the court with him.
08:08You talk about still getting to know Andy now on a different level. Is there anything
08:13in particular you've learned about him that's new or anything that's surprised you about
08:18Andy as a coach?
08:20Well, I mean, we still are at the very beginning of the partnership as a coach-player, so we
08:31just spent 10-12 days together pre-season here in Melbourne. We still haven't had any
08:37official match where he's coaching me, so that's going to be... I mean, last night when
08:42I played Sascha it was interesting to see him in the coaching corner. Obviously it was
08:47an exhibition, so not the same, but still there was that little bit of an introduction
08:52to what's expecting us on Monday, you know, to that feeling. And I actually, as a side
08:58note, I think it's great that Australian Open introduced the coaching box on the court,
09:06on the same level, in the corner. I think it's great. That's where Andy and the coaching
09:14stuff will sit, so I'm excited to start a tournament with him. As I said a few minutes
09:23ago, there's a lot of communication about every shot in the game, my game, tactics,
09:35mental approach, communication on the court during matches, practice sessions. He's daily
09:43spending quite a bit of time with other team members and trying to get synchronised with
09:48them. So far it has been only positive experience for me, to be honest. I'm very pleasantly
09:58surprised with his dedication and professionalism, considering he's never had the experience
10:04of working as a tennis coach. But it comes natural to him. His IQ generally, and tennis
10:14IQ, is very high. So he observes and speaks when it's most important. I think he understands
10:29the moment when he needs to say something and what to say and what to ask. So far it
10:36has been great, really. As I said, we've been trying to blend in in the best and most
10:45effective way. Obviously doing it on the court in front of hundreds if not thousands of people
10:54who are watching practice sessions as well is a good way for us to prepare for the matches
11:01and him to see how I react in some practice matches. So I look forward. Let's see what
11:11will happen. I must say that at the beginning it was a bit of a strange feeling to be able
11:20to share the insights with him, not just about the game but about how I feel, about
11:27life in general. Not in a negative way, just in a way that I have never done that with
11:32him because he was always one of my greatest rivals. So we were always kind of hiding things
11:37from each other. But now all cards are open on the table and that's what he demands. I
11:46am 100 per cent supportive of that kind of communication method where you share everything
11:52because that's the best way for him to understand you and to actually help you in whatever way
11:57he can.
11:59We have time for one more question.
12:19I love Riley. I think he is such a great guy. I have actually appreciated a lot his support
12:28over the years. He has been saying a lot of nice things in the media about me and giving
12:34support on social media when I was facing some difficulties. So I try to be supportive
12:44of him and the couple of years of the injury struggles that he had. I love his personality
12:55and his interest for art and different things than just sports. I don't appreciate him beating
13:04me in Brisbane but he just played an amazing match and it was great to see him playing
13:10so well. I actually met him yesterday and asked him about his back because apparently
13:15that's bothering him now. It's not easy for a guy who is 6, 10, 11 to play every single
13:26day. I guess that's a lot of physical burden for him. Hopefully he can stay healthy and
13:32fit because we all know that his serve is lethal but I was very surprised with his movement
13:39and his game from back of the court. That's something that really surprised me and my
13:46team and everyone. He was able to rally and play with a lot of depth and not making too
13:53many errors. If he keeps going like that he is super dangerous like Isner was in his best
13:59days. He can beat anybody on any surface to be honest. It's so much pressure to play somebody
14:05who has such a dominant serve.
14:10Do you have any evidence linking your high heavy metal blood levels to the food you were
14:25served in hotel detention three years ago?
14:29The GQ article came out online yesterday and I think it's a February issue so it's coming
14:37out in print version. I've done that interview many months ago so I would appreciate not
14:43talking more in detail about that as I would like to focus on the tennis and why I'm here.
14:49If you want to see what I've said and get more info on that you can always revert to
14:55the article.