Tennis ace Novak Djokovic visits Abu Dhabi

Gulf News

Tennis ace Novak Djokovic visits Abu Dhabi. World No 1 tennis star Novac Djokovic talks about playing in Abu Dhabi and shares his thoughts on fulfilling a childhood dream. See more at: http://gulfnews.com/gntv

Transcript

00:00Welcome Novak, how are you?

00:05Good, thank you. Thank you for the introduction.

00:07That's no problem whatsoever. Anytime I introduce a world's number one, I get the same.

00:13I was mixed with a lot of positive feelings this year, definitely.

00:17It has been the best year in my career so far, winning three Grand Slams and becoming number one.

00:24It made my dreams come true and I was fortunate enough to be surrounded with the close ones,

00:30with the family and all the people I love and share this success with them.

00:34It's been a year that I always dreamed about, that I always wanted to have as a tennis player,

00:40but still it's just the start. I feel that my life is getting better every day,

00:46that I feel that I still have lots to prove to myself and to everybody else.

00:52If somebody told me in the start of 2011 that I'm going to be number one,

00:56I would probably sign that paper right away.

00:59It was incredible, especially because of the run that I had in the first five, six months.

01:04I made so many wins in a row that I really didn't count anymore.

01:11I was just trying to play one match at a time and trying to think about how long the streak will go,

01:18not when it will end. That was helping me to stay grounded, to really try to take seriously every match.

01:24The hard work that I put into all these years, especially in the last couple of years,

01:30playing on the top of the men's game, helped me to become a better player,

01:35helped me to mature as a person, to understand what I need to do on and off the court.

01:40I'm very fortunate to be here.

01:43Wimbledon has been my dream from the childhood and becoming number one.

01:48I realised that in just a couple of days' time.

01:51I think that final day against Nadal in Wimbledon was an unforgettable moment of 2011.

01:58I'm very much looking forward to the Mubadala World Tennis Championship.

02:03It's the start of a new season for all of us.

02:06I think it's probably the strongest field we have in the tournament this year ever.

02:11It's my debut.

02:12I'm sure that we will all be very much motivated to start the season in a great fashion

02:18and to step out on the tennis court, which we already miss,

02:22and try to perform for the crowd some great and attacking tennis.

02:27What Mubadala is doing for the tennis community here is great.

02:31It's really nice to see because tennis is still yet to grow in this part of the world

02:37and I'm really happy to be a part of and to give my contribution, let's say,

02:42in some ways to the development of the tennis in this region.

02:47I already have seen many kids with tennis rackets and doing a lot of activities, sport activities.

02:54I think it's a very healthy way of living

02:57and it's the right way to understand who you are

03:01and to do something that can bring you a lot of success in life.

03:06It's the right dedication always, but first of all, at a young age,

03:11you need to find some profession, some sport that you really like,

03:16that you can identify with yourself and that just feels right for you to do.

03:24Obviously, tennis is one of the sports that offers a lot of positive things in life.

03:29You can travel to beautiful places like Abu Dhabi

03:34and play in the world class tournaments.

03:37You can be successful in what you do.

03:40You can meet the cultures, meet different kinds of people

03:43and it's still giving you a healthy lifestyle

03:47and I think that's something that I would suggest to the kids

03:52to really find the right sport for them, to be dedicated,

03:55to always believe that they can realize their dreams.

03:58I'm sticking with the same regime of my diet

04:02and same way of practicing.

04:05Nothing has changed.

04:07My approach is pretty much as simple as it was all these years.

04:11I'm very much motivated and dedicated to this sport

04:15and I still am only 24, so I believe that there is many years to come

04:20and to have a lot of success in those years.

04:23Injuries are past at this moment,

04:26so this is something that I'm happy to announce.

04:30It has been a couple of weeks already since my last match

04:34and it has been more than enough time for me to recover

04:37physically and mentally and to get back into shape and as fit as possible.

04:43This year's success gives me a reason to believe that I can do it again.

04:47Why not?

04:49I think it doesn't make sense to be anything else than optimistic really

04:53and I need to believe in my qualities, in my abilities.

04:58I need to believe that I can repeat this year again.

05:00Of course, it's going to be an incredibly difficult task to achieve,

05:04but you never know. Nothing is really impossible.

05:07The truth is that this year, mentally, I'm more matured and a stronger player

05:13and I believe on the court more in my qualities,

05:17more that I can win against Federer, Nadal and all the top players.

05:22The bottom line is that you cannot be born with this.

05:28You cannot just have the mental strength at the start of your career.

05:32You have to develop, you have to work, you have to be patient

05:37and the process for somebody takes shorter time, for somebody longer.

05:42For me, it took four or five years in a professional circuit

05:47to really understand myself, to perfect my game as much as possible

05:53and to be mentally experienced enough to be confident enough

06:00that I can win major titles.

06:02I will spend the Christmas time and the New Year Eve time working, as always.

06:09But I will celebrate. I will celebrate in Abu Dhabi.

06:13Thank you very much, Novak.

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