Novak Djokovic says he is "ready to go 5 sets, 5 hours" in any match, admits thinking about Calendar Slam "burdens him mentally"
Novak Djokovic moved into the semifinals of the 2021 US Open with a 5-7, 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 win over Matteo Berrettini on Wednesday.
Like in his previous two matches, Djokovic started off slowly, losing the opening set through a flurry of unforced errors. But he quickly pulled his socks up to brush aside the Italian in the next three sets.
This is the ninth time this year that Novak Djokovic has won a Slam match after losing the opening set, which is now also a tour record for a single season. And during his post-match press conference, the World No. 1 was asked to elaborate on his thought process when he goes down by a set.
In response, Djokovic pointed out that he likes playing the best-of-five format against younger opponents as he has the upper hand in terms of experience and fitness.
"I like to play best-of-five, especially against the younger guys," Novak Djokovic said. "I think the experience of being on the big stage so many times does help. Physically I feel as fit as anybody out there. So I can go the distance. Actually I like to go the distance. The longer the match goes, I feel like I don't have any issues. I think I have a better chance than any other opponent."
Djokovic did acknowledge that he would prefer to win in straight sets as often as possible. But he then pointed out that it is difficult to maintain your level throughout a match, especially against top-ranked players.
"Of course, I want to start off well and win in straight sets," Djokovic added. "Don't get me wrong. But sometimes it happens that you go through ups and downs during the match, particularly when you play against the best players in the world in the latter stages of Grand Slams."
Novak Djokovic then declared that he was not afraid of going the distance in any of his remaining matches at the 2021 US Open.
"I'm going to be ready to go five sets, five hours, whatever it takes," the Serb continued. "That's why I'm here."
Novak Djokovic is now two wins away from achieving the Calendar Slam, and he was asked by Patrick McEnroe to give his thoughts on that during the on-court interview. But the Serb stopped McEnroe before he could finish, making it clear that he didn't want to answer the question.
Djokovic was naturally asked to elaborate on the incident during his post-match press conference. In response, the 34-year-old explained that he has had enough of answering questions about his record bid, since he has been asked to speak about it practically every day.
Djokovic further claimed that overthinking about the record "burdens" him mentally.
"Because I've been getting that question quite a lot recently, which is understandable," Novak Djokovic said. "But I had enough of answering that. I just said millions of times that of course I'm aware of the history, of course it gives me motivation. If I start to think about it too much, it burdens me mentally. I want to really go back to the basics and what really works for me mentally."
Novak Djokovic further said he is "grateful" to be on the cusp of tennis history, but that he needs to be focused on winning his next matches.
"Again, I'm in a position that is very unique," the Serb said. "I'm very grateful for that. I'm inspired to play my best tennis. But I know what works for me to win just the next match. So that's the reason why I stopped Patrick. I hope he doesn't mind. I know that a lot of people want to hear me talking about it. But let's talk about it hopefully on Sunday."
"I think very few points will really determine the winner there" - Novak Djokovic on his semifinal clash against Alexander Zverev
During the presser, Novak Djokovic also spoke at length about his semifinal opponent Alexander Zverev. Djokovic brought up Zverev's superlative form and highlighted how the German came close to winning the US Open last year.
"He's in fantastic form," Novak Djokovic said. "Next to Medvedev, best form. But it's best-of-five. It's Grand Slam. Of course looking at his results in past few years, he's played very well here on this court. He was a couple points away from his first slam last year against Dominic."
The Serb admitted that Zverev would likely give him a tough fight on Friday but pointed out that you need to beat such players in order to win Slams.
"I know it's going to be battle, even harder than it was today," he added. "But I'm ready for it. Look, these are the hurdles that I need to overcome in order to get to the desired destination. Result is something that I can't predict, but I can definitely put myself in the best possible state of mind and body to perform as well as I can."
Novak Djokovic further claimed he is well-versed with Alexander Zverev's game. The 34-year-old reckons nerves could come into play during their match, and he insisted that the contest is likely to be a very close one.
"I know his game," Djokovic continued. "As I said, I know his game very well. I've seen him play. He's been playing very, very well. Again, semis. When we face each other, there's nerves, a lot of things on the line. It could go both ways. I think very few points will really determine the winner there. Let's see what happens."