Novak Djokovic
After reaching the final

That was hard work today. Right?

DJOKOVIC: Yes, it was really a lot of long rallies. I had to work for my
points, especially on my serve. I knew that. That was no secret. I had some
tough encounters with him in the past. I knew he is a player, who likes to
play on fast surfaces. You could see what a great touch he has. From the
baseline, he barely makes mistakes. So, I had to change the pace, maybe make
some variety, go to the net and serve out well. The first percentage of the
first serves was quite well throughout the match. There were a couple of
games that I had ups and downs but generally I served well which was
important.

Did you feel you moved better in this match or in the previous rounds?

DJOKOVIC: Well, with Melzer … Okay if you look at the falls, I didn't fall
one time but again I didn't have any rallies with him. With Olivier I had a
lot of long rallies and it's normal that I will have a little difficulties
with the movement. The court now is in quite bad condition. You could see
that there is barely enough grass around the baseline and service line, a lot
of bad bounces, low bounces. So you have to be really focused all the time.

You seemed to almost rethink around the end of the first set. You cut the
rallies short?

DJOKOVIC: Yes, I knew he loves getting the same pace. That’s what I figured
out playing against him in our past couple of matches. So, I needed to use
the slice. I think it’s a good shot to use on this surface, then get to the
net. As I said, variety in the game.

Tommy talked today about difference in conditions. It’s obviously warmer, he
played when there were shadows. Did you find any difference and also did it
affect how you thought about your stringing?

DJOKOVIC: Well, I think with my case I don’t make any huge difference with
the stringing. It’s more or less the same tension that I use in most of my
matches. Of course, it’s adjustable according to the conditions that day.
When it’s warmer the ball is flying faster and obviously you have to string
a little bit tighter. But I used the same tension today and it was quite
well. Our match was different from Tommy’s and Philipp’s because they
played under the sun, we played in the shadow. Everything really affects.

Now you are going to play Tommy in the final. He said you are the clear
favourite. What do you think about that?

DJOKOVIC: It’s hard to say. Especially in the finals you don’t want to put
yourself as a favourite. Obviously on the paper, yes I am because I’m ranked
better but I wouldn't say that gamewise I'm a big favourite to win the match
because he has been playing some great tennis this week winning against
Tsonga, Kohlschreiber. You must give him credit for that.

You were in the finals in Queens last year, now you are in the finals in
Halle. Are you playing better this year, looking ahead a little bit to
Wimbledon?

DJOKOVIC: It’s hard to compare. I think I played extremely well from the
baseline last year but this year I am serving much better. The serve is a
very important factor in the game on this surface.

Can you compare the two experiences: What has been different about preparing
here as opposed to preparing in London?

DJOKOVIC: Well, I thought weatherwise that I’m in London (laughs). So, I was
happy to see the sun today. I think it’s very quiet here. The hotel and all
the facilities in one complex, that’s very convenient for the players. It’s
different. I don’t want to criticize courts or something but in my opinion
Queens’ courts are better, but it’s two different tournaments. But if you
are playing finals two years in a row it must mean that you are enjoying the
event.


13.06.2009