Novak Djokovic: With This Confidence, Hopefully I Can Challenge Rafa At Roland Garros
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Congrats to Novak Djokovic and his fans. Yesterday, Djokovic trumped Rafael Nadal 63, 64 to win his third career ATP World Tour Finals event. Djokovic now heads into the Davis Cup this week on a 22-match win streak since losing to Rafael Nadal in September at the U.S. Open.
Djokovic will not finish No. 1, but he says the last two months have given him the confidence and motivation for next season.
“Well, next to the run that I had in 2011, this is definitely the second best I’ve had,” Djokovic said Monday. “Just for me, the most positive thing that I can take from this two and a half months is the fact that I managed to regroup after a few big losses after Nadal, especially Roland Garros, US Open final and Wimbledon final.
“As I said, work harder and play better, become an even more skillful player. I think I’ve worked on a few things in my game and serve that has helped me win a lot of matches in last two months. This is definitely the best possible way that I can finish the season, of course, the official ATP season, not including the Davis Cup final that I have in a few days’ time, where of course I hope we can bring another title to our country.
“This can serve as a great platform for 2014 season. I’m extra motivated and inspired to work and get myself, first of all, rested and recovered in the off season, and then work on my game and get ready for Australian Open.”
Djokovic finishes 2013 with a 72-9 record and seven titles. But still missing is the French Open and a return to No. 1, two big goals for 2014 that he says he can achieve after gaining back some leverage on Nadal who beat him in an epic five sets in Paris.
“I would choose to win both next year,” he said referring to the French and the No. 1 ranking. “That’s only thing that I’m doing. I’m looking ahead. What happened happened, and everything happens for a reason. As I said before, those losses that I had against Nadal in the big matches made me understand what I need to do to become a better and stronger player. That’s all that matters now.
“I won over 20 matches in a row. With this particular confidence, I’m getting into the new season that hopefully can be the one for me where I can challenge Rafa on Roland Garros.”
What’s next for Novak? Davis Cup on Friday in Belgrade, then exhibition matches with Rafa before a brief vacation.
“As soon as I play the Davis Cup final, I go for a week of exhibition events in South America, first in Chile with Rafa, then in Buenos Aires, in Argentina, another two matches,” Djokovic siad. “One of them for sure again is with Rafa. We’ll be seeing each other quite often. I see him more than my mom actually.
“After that I’m going to allow myself to have few weeks off. I deserve that time. I’m going to speak with my team, if I’m able to rest myself.”
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