Novak Djokovic on his biggest strength: "I adjust very well to the opponent, to the surface"
Novak Djokovic held on to his nerves as he beat Taylor Fritz 7-6(5), 7-6(6) to qualify for his eighth final of the ATP Finals. The Serbian is on a four-match winning streak and has dropped just one set all tournament.
At the post-match press conference, the World No. 8 reflected on the playing surface of the Pala Alpitour and how he has altered his playing style to suit the surface and the opposition. The 21-time Grand Slam winner, when asked about the surface he would choose to play the "match of his life" on, then said that he would choose a "slightly slower" indoor surface than the one in Turin.
"I don't think I would choose this one, to be honest. Even though I've been playing well, I mean, don't get me wrong. If I have to talk about indoor, I would probably choose a surface that is slightly slower than this one. It's really, really fast. Of course, when you serve well, it helps. But when you don't serve well, you have to struggle a lot, find a way to win from the baseline. That's what I can say," he said.
Djokovic further stated that adjusting to different surfaces has been one of the strengths of his career. The 35-year-old added that despite not playing on grasscourts till he was 17, the surface has turned out to be one of his favorites.
"Historically I've always played pretty well indoor, different speed of the court, different balls. So I adjust well. I think that's probably one of the virtues and one of the strengths that I had throughout my career. I adjust very well to the opponent, to the surface. I always wanted to play equally well on all surfaces," he said.
"Even though I grew up in Serbia mostly playing on clay, and I haven't played on grass till I was 17 I think, first time. Over the years I have a special relationship with the grass. I'm really happy that I was able to develop this kind of all-around success on all the conditions and tournaments."
"I'm going to give it all, I'm going to obviously try my best" - Novak Djokovic eyes 2022 ATP Finals title
Novak Djokovic will be up against Casper Ruud in the title clash of the 2022 ATP Finals in Turin. In a press conference, The former World No. 1 expressed his desire to win the final and take home the trophy.
"Well, I was looking forward to being in this position. I'm very happy to be able to compete for another big trophy, one of the biggest ones that we have in our sport," he said, adding, "So far a great week for me. Four out of four wins. Of course, the last match of the season, I'm going to give it all. I'm going to obviously try my best. "