Q: After the season you had in 2015, there’s only one way it can improve in terms of Grand Slams. Are you confident you can do that this year? Novak: It’s only the beginning of the season. It’s too early to talk about what I can or can’t do later in the season. I’m here to focus on Australian Open. I would like to do the best as I can and fight for the trophy.
The opening week of the year in Doha went extremely well for me. I didn’t drop a set. I’ve been preparing well, taking some time to really work on certain things, get a good foundation, good base for the long season that includes Olympic Games, which of course is one of the top priorities for me and many other players.
Q: What are the good feelings you get here every year when you come here, having won five times? Novak: I think most of the players really enjoy being here in Australia, in Melbourne. It’s a country and city that nurtures sport’s values. Whether it’s professional athletes you see along the way, the sports facilities that are magnificent around here, or just the regular people that jog, spend a lot of time outdoors, take care of themselves.
So when you’re in an environment like this, you feel motivated, you feel inspired to be here, to actually perform at your best.
In my case, this has been the most successful Grand Slam tournament, and probably one of my two, three most successful tournaments of my career. I won it five times.
Every time I go back to Rod Laver Arena, I have these memories come back to me from the first win back in 2008, and some of the epic matches I’ve played on that court.
Q: What have you seen of your first-round opponent? Seems to be a star of the future. Novak: Yeah, he’s one of the rising stars of the tennis world. I haven’t seen him play too much, honestly. I know that he’s a tall fellow. He hits pretty solid from back of the court.
He doesn’t have maybe as powerful of a serve as you would expect for his height. I’m going to do a little bit more of analysis and research there and get myself ready.
I need to try to be going out on the court with the right intensity from the very beginning.
Q: The weather is supposed to be pretty hot tomorrow for the first round. Is it a bit of a concern for you when you have to play in the heat or…? Novak: You got to get yourself ready for whatever is coming your way. I think Melbourne weather is very unpredictable. They call it a city of four seasons in one day. You spend the off-season training hard, getting your endurance level to that extent where you can actually handle these conditions. Of course, sometimes it’s very difficult to handle them if it goes over 40 degrees. Again, you’re not the only one on the court. There’s an opponent across the net. He’s handling it as tough as you are. You got to keep that in your mind and try to be tough.
Whatever is coming our way tomorrow, I’ll try to be ready for it.