Novak Djokovic’s speech at the conference after the Australian Open

Novak Djokovic’s address was emotional. Openly, directly, he began to talk about everything he had gone through during these tumultuous two weeks, he couldn’t help but remember the past year.

Before him, Goran Ivanišević addressed everyone. The Australian Open title will be celebrated for a long time, that’s for sure.

“Novak is incredible. There is no end to his craziness in a positive way. I can’t put it into words. I was shocked, especially against Dimitrov. Well, the first two rounds, but after that I was really scared, but Novak didn’t want to retire. Anyone would do it in his place, but not him. We talk all the time, but he’s great. The man has won 10 Australian Opens. At the moment, Serbia – Spain is 22:22, it’s like handball, let’s see what will happen next.”

On the field itself, Novak was emotional. He addressed Tsitsipas first.

“I acknowledge your effort and overall performance at the tournament. You were not lucky. This is not your last Grand Slam final. You have more time ahead of you than before me,” he said and repeated that for him Tsitsipas is one of the most interesting people on the tour. We are two relatively small countries with no tennis tradition. We didn’t have too many players to look up to, so I think the message for every young tennis player watching this from anywhere in the world is: Dream, let yourself dream, don’t let it be taken away from you.

Then he continued in a similar tone at the conference.

– Great pride and satisfaction I feel. When I entered the pit, I collapsed emotionally. Especially when I hugged my mom and brother. Everything that was happening, I couldn’t stay focused, but I tried to go one day at a time, If I go back in time to a week and a half ago, I didn’t give myself many chances, but I just went lap by lap. The good thing is that I had a gap day between matches. I tried to go to all the therapies and do everything to win.

Novak continued about the second week of the tournament.

– I played well in the final, from the 4th round until the final, I felt great on the court, I was excellent. I knew that the final would be different, I saw how great Stefanos was, but I needed to stay in the momentum. In the second set today he was the better player. It was really emotional. It’s hard for me to explain in words, a great trip.

He had to mention again the name-calling against Ivanišević during the matches, when his head was hot.

“I talked normally with Goran and the team, I asked for advice (smile). It is difficult to explain such communication to people who are not in this. That is why I said at the ceremony that I am grateful for their support and apologized for the conversation.”

He remembered the deportation and Father Srđan.

“It was difficult. I was looking forward to coming to Australia, I’m playing really well here, I wanted to come back, play, reach the record. I had great preparations. But the events of last year made me nervous. However, in Adelaide and I felt good here. What happened, what happened, also the events with my father, it didn’t come easy for me, but I had to concentrate. It was mentally difficult to stay focused. The people around me did a great job, helping me to I do all the routines. Thanks to them!”

He also has a message for Rafa.

“I am motivated to have the most Grand Slams in history. These trophies are our biggest motivation to compete. I don’t like to compare myself with others, but it is a privilege to be part of the discussion about who is the best in the world. I try to win, I am motivated , I don’t want to stop here, I am playing great tennis and I know when I feel good I have a chance to win any slam. Nothing is guaranteed but I will fight. I have a lot of experience, I always keep my brain fresh. I don’t know how much I will play, it all depends from my body. And 35 is not 25, although I believe it is, but as long as I am in balance, I have a chance to win the biggest tournaments!”

He presented three things as the main assets for the title.

Mental strength, heart and you know the third thing I showed.

“You never know how much time you have left to compete, but I’m glad to be number one again! I’ll need a few nights of sleep to understand what happened in the past three weeks. I hope to motivate young people in Serbia to play tennis, or to play some other sport. It’s a cliché, but when you come from Serbia or Greece, which have zero tennis tradition, it’s a lot harder for you. You encounter more difficult challenges, but that makes you stronger, you’re more grateful for everything you get in life !”

– Stefanos is a nice guy and it is important to be nice to everyone even when you are their rival! We have to have respect for each other. I’ve been thinking in these two weeks if I want to post something on social networks, to show pictures of what I’ve been going through, and in the next few days I’ll post. Even two years ago, all kinds of things happened, people make fun of me, and I want to show what happened, not for them, but for myself. You will find out everything in a few days. I won’t be pathetic, I won the tournament, but it bothers me how people behaved.”

He referred to the lack of training.

– I didn’t train at all, if the injury was minor, or if it wasn’t physically taxing, I would have trained, but I’ve never had a situation like this in my life where I didn’t train at all. it was a good decision, but the situation is not ideal. I would like to progress, to train, but I couldn’t. I wanted to go out on the field and train, but the team didn’t let me! Mentally it was hard for me, but God arranged things for me the way they were supposed to be and I had to go through all this, that’s how I look at it. This is not a matter of faith, but my opinion from the soul. I believe in God and guardian angels and their help was important to me in this tournament like never before! Dear God helped me to be here with you at the end! To the Novak from last year, this Novak from 2023 would say: “Come to Australia, everything will be ok!

He looked back at Father Srđan.

– I trained myself, I create my destiny and reality! It’s not always pleasant for me, especially when someone touches my father in such a completely undeserved way. If someone else were in my place, this would have taken two or three hours, but this life experience was given to me!

This is all me and all this provokes me to get the best out of myself, out of spite I am the best!

He was touched by the support.

– I am the best for myself. Results are the only measure. There are many different factors when talking about who is the greatest of all time. Pressure is a privilege, pressure is something I’m used to, I can’t play without it, this race with Nadal carries enormous pressure, you don’t know how long it will last. It is great for our sport that we are able to fight for the highest. We all talk only about Grand Slams, but there is also number one. Being number one in such a series is something that is most demanding. In that context, I’m glad to come back and be number one, it’s a big goal, but it’s not decisive!” The support I’ve had this year is the best thing. I have support from a lot of people, but thanks to everyone who came to follow me This year the most beautiful cheering ever, they recognized the importance of the moment, they wanted to be there for me, they gave me wings!

When asked by Jelena Medić, who reports for Sportal from Melbourne, Novak answered: Just listen to me.

The question was: When you are in front of the masters in Paris, a new paper will be turned from January 1st and then we will see who is the best…

That was cut by Novak.

– I always imagine myself with the trophy in my hands because I played really great here! That attitude has taken me to great heights and I will not change it. That attitude is needed to be competitive and win the biggest titles!

– This title is even more significant after everything that happened last year. I have been in a positive mood since I came, I have left last year’s challenges behind me, I feel that it is necessary to forgive. So little is forgiven today. In the world around me, I would like to see a little more compassion and patience before someone is judged. Not all media are inclined to investigative journalism, but only to clickbait. Just to write something about someone as soon as possible, and they don’t realize how much damage they cause to people. That’s what happened with my father here. An avalanche is created and you don’t know how to react, and then the wisest thing is to let go and move on.

Tsitsipas touched him.

– Very nice of Tsitsipas to say all that about me, but I’m glad he’s kind. I hope the world will change a little! We are our own greatest allies and greatest enemies. Not everything is so easy and beautiful when you go out on the field and have to deal with many different things. In that context, it is acceptable for me to lose concentration. Such moments are normal and crisis is an integral part of every match. I have no hair on my tongue about certain things, I am a very fair-minded person, and if I feel that something is not right, I will verbalize it. I have stuck my nose where it doesn’t belong, but if I have a platform to say something, I will say it. There will always be those who judge me!