NOVAK DJOKOVIC SPEAKS TO BORIS BECKER FOR EUROSPORT

Boris Becker: Novak, have you found your top form, you look strong and solid?

Novak Djokovic: Yes, that’s to the point and that’s how I feel. I did struggle a bit after the Australian Open, I didn’t play a tournament for five or six weeks so I was little rusty at Indian Wells, in Miami and the first week of clay in Monte Carlo. I was struggling to find my best game. But then I became more confident by practising on clay, Madrid went really well, I didn’t drop a set and won a tournament there, played a couple of really long matches in Rome, had a good build-up though Rafa was too strong in the final. I think the last month-and-a-half have been really good for me on clay and the aim was to always peak here at Roland-Garros. Roland-Garros, or indeed Grand Slams, aren’t strange tournaments to me, I have been in this situation many times before. At this phase of my career this is a place where I really want to play my best. The conditions have been a bit heavier so far, the courts a bit slower, lower bounce, and my second round opponent was another guy who I’ve never faced before so it’s always dangerous. You want to start well and I’ve started extremely well. I had a bit of drop-off in concentration in the second set of my second round match but generally it’s been a really, really good couple of matches.

BB: Looking back to Australia, I thought that was the best you’d played for a long, long time…

ND: Yes, under the circumstances, sure. I do admit that following Melbourne I did commit to a lot of things although I was training a lot! But it does happen. I thought I started well in Indian Wells, but then my match with Kohlschreiber was changed and I didn’t feel as good the next day which happens. Indian Wells and Miami, historically they have been really successful tournaments for me so I was a bit disappointed not to do really well there. Look, at this stage of my career, Grand Slams are where I want to play my best – I’m not taking anything away from the value of other events. Of course, every time I step onto a court I want to win a tennis match but being ready for Slams at this stage of my career is crucial. This is where I want to make the history of tennis and my own history and I want to keep going and playing well.

BB: When did your performances on clay this season click for you?

ND: Madrid for sure. Conditions are different, it’s 600 or 700m altitude so the ball flies through the air a bit more and it’s played faster so I like it. I didn’t drop a set there, I played really well in the semi’s and the final, I had a really tight match against Dominic Thiem. I think winning that semi-final against Dominic, two really tight sets, tie-breaks, mentally that really gave me a lift because he’s definitely in the top two or three guys on clay. I’ve lost to him once or twice here on clay at Roland-Garros. It was a very important win and sometimes that’s all it takes. It takes one close match against a top player.

Do you have a clear plan in place to prepare yourself for a Grand Slam?

I think it’s mindset and strategy. First of all you need to be clear yourself with what are your priorities and what are your goals, where you want to play your best. It can be clear sometimes in theory, but in practice you have to apply it. Those Grand Slams during the year are the ones that count. I try to adjust everything, my family life, everything around peaking at those biggest events. It has worked for me in the past, and it has worked for me in the past 12 months. Winning Wimbledon for me was a huge confidence boost for me and a huge springboard for what was to come. I had dropped out of the top 20, I lost to Cecchinato here last year, played finals in Queens - what a difference a year makes.

12 months you were fighting with yourself, what changed?

ND: That’s the power of winning a Slam, especially Wimbledon which is the Holy Grail of tennis. I’ve always dreamed of winning that tournament and winning it after everything I’ve been through with the surgery, coming back and finding myself on the court – that was crucial – after that I started to breathe again.

BB: Do you smell some history in terms of holding all Grand Slam titles at the same time?

ND: Yes, well the fact I did three years ago gives me enough reason to believe I can do it again. I really believe I can, that’s why I am here. I think I have found my form at the right time, I am hitting the ball well, I just need to keep doing things in the right way as I have done in the past. If I continue to do this then I think I have a fair chance of going far in this event – everything is in God’s hands.

BB: What about Rafa Nadal?

ND: We all watch each other, that’s normal – especially as we’re playing matches on different days. There are TVs everywhere, when the top guys are playing then everyone is watching in the locker room. I watch him, Roger, Zverev, Del Potro, Thiem…I follow them closely but the focus is still on my game because I have had success against all these guys on different surfaces and I know what it takes to go really far in this tournament. I have tremendous respect for all of them, especially Rafa who has only lost twice here in his whole career. Rafa is the ultimate challenge in Paris.