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Ana · @aaenaaa

20th Feb 2015 from TwitLonger

@TheBorisBecker about the Australian Open 2015 with Novak


If people think Novak’s victory was no surprise, then I can only say: You can’t take a Grand Slam title for granted. You can’t even value such an accomplishment high enough. Novak had caught a cold in Doha and that influenced his practice and preparation in Melbourne. It was important to play the first rounds without summoning up too much energy. Thank god, it worked. The first real test was Verdasco in the third round, a high-class match. We both noticed: Huh, it’s going well. The optimal preparation, ten days in the training camp in Dubai with six hours of intensive and hard work every day, had paid off. The conditions in Melbourne have been good also: not too much heat in the first couple of days, best possibilities to practice – we were always warming up on the protected courts 16, 17 or 18. The short ways. From his hotel in South Yarra, Novak only needed 15 minutes to the Melbourne Park.

Novak is different than many top stars. He spends much time on the facilities of a tournament. It relaxes him to talk to other players in the players’ café and in the changing rooms. Novak is very popular and favorite. It’s never a problem to find a sparring partner. We’re very close friends with Wawrinka and already practiced with him in Dubai. Berdych is good because he gives you rhythm. I also really appreciate Ferrer because he’s very serious and focused. He has become a friend, too. Usually, we don’t practice with Federer and Nadal.

Novak faced another regular sparring partner and friend in the quarter finals – Raonic. He was in good shape. At the latest after that win Novak and me looked each other into the eyes and said: Something is going on. It also was a sign from an at-the-beginning-sick-Djokovic to his competitors: If you want to win the title, you have to beat me first. But the most difficult opponents were just about to come: It’s often underestimated that his semi-final opponent and defending champion Wawrinka has reached the top of the rankings. When I hear and read after the match “A distracted Djokovic fortunately won the match”, I can only say: What do you expect? Shall he beat such a great player in three sets? Novak won the last set – like in the final against Murray – 6:0 and you can only do that if you’re able to play physically and mentally for a long time on that level. Yeah, Novak gets also into situations in which he’s a bit slack. A five-set-match between the best players in the world is like a boxing match with twelve rounds. Sometimes it happens that you sway. But Novak isn’t a player who asks for a medical time out when he isn’t injured. He struggles his way through. To reproach him for faking something, as Murray said, is unfair. I like Andy, we respectfully talked to each other after the final but exactly he’s someone of who you often think he might just get a cramp in his body in the very next moment.

I hope that after the eighth Grand Slam title, Novak gets the respect from the media he deserves. It’s a fact that he’s the best and everybody wants his scalp. Whether he can win all four Majors this year? It’s nearly impossible. Too many factors play a significant role: health, luck, draws, weather. Our credo is: We only focus on the next tournament and that’s Dubai now.

(Translated by @aaenaaa, via tennis magazin)

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