On the eve of the start of the Rolex Paris Masters at Bercy, Novak Djokovic gave an interview to Marion Bartoli and her Sunday show on RMC. The Serb wanted to answer in very good French to explain how much the tournament in eastern Paris, which he has won six times, is close to his heart. “It’s one of the biggest ATP 1000 tournaments in the world,” he said. I have a lot of respect for this event. I feel really good at Bercy. I like the city and the playing conditions. In France, there is a history and a tradition of tennis. We feel this energy from the spectators. And there is also a particularity: the tournament is located at the end of the season. And it’s very important for me to start well and finish a year well! »
Regarding his season, largely complicated by his questions of vaccines which notably prevented him from participating in the Australian Open after an incredible week, Djokovic prefers to retain the positive. “My victory this year at Wimbledon, which has always been the tournament of my dreams, gave me balance. Previously, I had been challenged by problems outside the courts. It affected me. It was hard. But after Wimbledon, everything was better and I found a very good level of tennis.
Finally, the Serb mentioned the retirement of Roger Federer, which changed the tennis landscape. “His retirement leaves a kind of empty space in tennis that will not be filled,” he explains. I have huge respect for Roger. Thank you Roger for all you have done! Someone like him, you only see him once in a lifetime. Did the Swiss withdrawal make him think about his? “I’m not thinking about it concretely yet and I don’t know when it will happen. But in London, for Roger’s farewell, I said to myself that when that happens, I too would like to finish against my biggest rival. But now really isn’t the time to think about it.”