Novak Djokovic Holds First Press Conference

Written by: Staff on 9th March 2012

Novak Djokovic Holds First Press Conference

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Novak Djokovic was in the interview room for the first time at this year’s 2012 BNP Paribas Open. A well-spoken Djokovic touched upon his mindset and focus for the tournament as well as mentioning the positives (winning his dream tournament Wimbledon) and negatives (a loss to Roger Federer in the SF of the French Open) of his incredible 2011 season.

Surprisingly, nobody asked him about his Olympic goals or ideas, and mainly focused on how the current world #1 will answer the call to “defend” his titles/points week in and week out. Djokovic had this to say in response to this:

“I talked about it actually in Australia, saying that I believe that the right mindset is to always try to be a part of that group of the players that is going to win the title, you know, going to hunt that title, and that every year is different. So I’m not really trying to position myself as a defending champion, because then defending, you know, is not really something that I want to have. So I always try to get that aggressive approach.”

So it seems that Djokovic is trying to keep his ego grounded and go into tournaments with an aggressive approach to go after the title rather than put unnecessary pressure on himself.

“The fact is that there is always pressure and always expectations for somebody that is a top player, and it’s something that you can understand and expect. But you know, you have to deal with the pressure. You have to understand it, you know, cherish it and accept it as a challenge, and just try to take he best out of it and give your best on every match that you play. As I said, you know, I need to keep my simple-minded focus on every tournament I play on, because that is the way that I can stay grounded and I can stay committed.”

Despite all the new attention the Serbian has received, he seems to have the right attitude to keep his wits and work ethic in check. By the way he has been practicing on-site the past few days, it’s going to take a great effort by any player to find a crack in this man’s armor.