Last Updated on 11/14/2022 by てんしょく飯
Former men’s tennis world champion Novak Djokovic (Serbia, currently ranked No. 8 in the world) made an appearance at the media day held prior to the start of the season finale, the ATP Finals (November 13-20, Turin, Italy, hard courts). He expressed his enthusiasm to win the title for the first time in seven years since the 2015 event.
I have to compete with the best players in the world.
Djokovic has faced many challenges this season, including the January incident in Australia, and although he was unable to win any matches since his return to the tour in February, he has improved with each match and won the Grand Slam title at Wimbledon in July. At Wimbledon in July, he won his 21st Grand Slam title.
He won the Tel Aviv Watergen Open (Tel Aviv, Israel / Hard Court / ATP 250) in late September and the Astana Open (Nursultan, Kazakhstan / Hard Court / ATP 500) in early October. He also qualified for the Finals by winning two consecutive weekends.
Djokovic is just one point away from winning the sixth and final title of his archrival Roger Federer (Switzerland, former world No. 1), who retired from the Laver Cup in September. Djokovic, who is just one point away from winning his archrival Roger Federer’s (Switzerland, former world No. 1) sixth title in the finals, described the difficulty of winning a finals tournament where eight top players are selected to play.
It’s the last week of the year and everyone is going to make their last spurt. Here we have to compete with the best players in the world. It will be intense from the very first match. You have to play more or less every player at least once in this tournament. I have a lot of experience in that format, so I hope it will work out for the best.”
In the final round, where only the top eight finishers in the year’s points standings are eligible to compete, four players each will compete in a round robin (qualifying) split into a green group and a red group, with the top two advancing to the final round (semifinals). The top two finishers will advance to the final round (semifinals).
Djokovic, who will play in the red group, will face 24-year-old Stefanos Tsitsipas (No. 3, Greece) in the first round robin match on November 14. The two have met three times this season, with Djokovic winning all three times.
Still, the 35-year-old ironman said, “Most recently, we played and won the final in Astana and the semifinal in Paris, but both matches were close, especially the Paris match, which was very tough. We know it will definitely be a tough match,” cautioned Tsitsipas. Afterwards, he reiterated that he has been looking forward to winning the Finals for a long time: “I’m highly motivated and looking forward to the challenge. I am in perfect physical condition,” he concluded the interview.
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