Erste Bank Open: Novak Djokovic - "Vienna lives for tennis because of players like Dominic Thiem"
Novak Djokovic will be number one in the Erste Bank Open, which starts on Monday. The Serb spoke at the opening press conference about his memories of Vienna, his ambitions with regard to the world rankings and the expectations of the event.
by Michael Rothschädl
last edit: Oct 26, 2020, 10:13 am
By Michael Rothschädl from the Wiener Stadthalle
"Hello, it's nice to be here," said the world number one, Novak Djokovic, who welcomed the gathered media representatives at the opening press conference at the Erste Bank Open. "Unfortunately, my German is not that good," added the Serb, but then decided to give his answers in the English language, which is much more familiar to him.
It is the first time in exactly thirteen years that the industry leader will serve in the Austrian capital. A decision that seems surprising at first glance, but appears well thought out at second. With just two wins at the Erste Bank Open, Djokovic would have secured number one position in the world rankings by the end of the year - for the sixth time in his career. In this comparison, the Serb could catch up with Pete Sampras, who has been the only leader to date.
Another record that the Serbian is of course aware of: "Of course I would like to end the year first in the world rankings. Pete Sampras is a childhood idol of mine, it is one of the biggest challenges in sport to end the year as number one", so the Serb. Meanwhile, the 33-year-old doesn't want to know that this is another comparison criterion in the long-running GOAT debate - with Nadal, Federer and Djokovic in the leading roles: "This discussion should be conducted by others."
Hope for a dream final against Thiem
Nevertheless, the industry leader makes little secret of the fact that there are very specific goals that the Serb is pursuing at this stage of his career. And that includes the weeks at the top of the ATP charts, in which Djokovic could soon become the sole leader if he held this position until March next year. The Serb sees the fact that the "Frozen Ranking" initiated by the ATP due to COVID-19 will apply for almost exactly the same length of time is only an advantage for himself. "It's great for me, of course, because I would have had to defend a few points in Australia," said the Serb. "Of course, one of my biggest goals is to have number one for most of the weeks."
A much shorter-term - but of course also much smaller goal - Djokovics is now winning the title at the Erste Bank Open. "I'm looking forward to measuring myself against the best in the world here," said the Serb. He only has great memories of his last appearance in Vienna, when he was promptly allowed to take the title home with him. "It's a great city. Vienna lives for tennis because of players like Dominic Thiem, Thomas Muster and Barbara Schett," said the industry leader full of praise for the capital of the Alpine republic. "It is definitely one of the best tournaments in this category."
Start against compatriot Krajinovic
With the biggest competitor for the title in the Wiener Stadthalle, the world number one has already completed his first training session. In the morning he did a session with Dominic Thiem at the Center Court: "We trained with such a high intensity, it worked felt like a final, "joked Djokovic a little later at the press conference. "Of course I hope that we can play against each other here because I think the fans want a final between number one and number two of the tournament." Until then, however, it will be a very long and rocky road, because there is an "extremely strong field" in Vienna, as Djokovic emphasized.
A path that will start for Djokovic against compatriot Filip Krajinovic. Which, as Djokovic admitted, was quite a surprise. A few days ago he would have trained with his compatriot, back then they would have joked that they could meet in Vienna. So now it turned out that way. "Filip must have spoken to you on the phone," joked Djokovic in the direction of tournament director Herwig Straka, who also attended the press conference with Vice Chancellor and Sports Minister Werner Kogler. But seriously, the odds were "very low" that two of just three Serbs in the field of participants were drawn to each other. "We're very good friends, we've known each other for a long time. He's a very talented player who can play very fast. We actually have a very similar game," said Djokovic about his opponent at the beginning.
Here you can read what Dominic Thiem had to say at the opening press conference.