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At a press conference before the Masters 1000 in Paris-Bercy, to Novak Djokovic was asked if he would like to be considered the tennis monster. Djokovic wants to close with a flourish: "The monster? I don't know the meaning of this word in your language, but in mine it doesn't have a positive meaning.
I prefer not to be the tennis monster. But it's fantastic to have a positive balance against the top player," added the 21-time Grand Slam champion. Nole revealed that the fields of Bercy have been speeded up compared to 2021: "What the tournament wants is not always the same as what the players want.
A little while ago Cedric Pioline told me that they decided to speed up the courts because many tennis players had complained about the slow conditions of last year. I think that's right, they have the right to do it. Everyone is different, there is not an ideal surface for everyone.
There have been years where the fields were very fast here and others where they were medium-slow. The changes also depend on the requests of the home players."
Novak's season and Australian Open 2023
Novak Djokovic revived his season by winning Wimbledon, the Italian Open, the ATP 250 of Tel Aviv and the ATP 500 of Astana.
The Serbian champion has encountered several problems this year due to his choice not to get vaccinated against the Coronavirus, which caused him to miss the Australian Open and the US Open. The former world number 1 also had to give up all the American Masters 1000 (Indian Wells, Miami, Montreal and Cincinnati), as well as having suffered serious damage to his image.
After the disappointment suffered at Roland Garros, the 35-year-old from Belgrade triumphed at Wimbledon for the fourth consecutive time (the seventh ever). Nole has thus equaled his idol Pete Sampras and hoisted himself at 21 Grand Slams, just one distance away from his eternal rival Rafael Nadal.
Djokovic wants to end the season well, waiting to know if he will be able to travel to Australia next January.