Novak: Becoming first will be hard, rivals are strong, but I have a huge motive
After his triumph in Paris, Novak Djokovic will go to battle for the last trophy of the season on Sunday, at the ATP Finals in London.
It won't be just a battle for the prestigious title. but also for the top year end rankings spot. He was number one five times at the end of the season, if he manages to do that this year as well, he will equal Pete Sampras' record.
The Serbian tennis player, who after a precisely one year reign surrendered the throne to Rafael Nadal, is aware that he will have a difficult task in the O2 Arena.
Djokovic is in the "Bjorn Borg" group with Roger Federer, Dominic Thiem and Matteo Berrettini. He doesn't want to calculate, his goal is to win all the matches at the tournament and return to number one.
"It will be an extremely difficult task for me considering who are the opponents in the group. If I manage to end the year as number one, it will be fantastic. I have a big motive", admitted Novak.
This year he played a few exceptional matches. The one that stands out is the Wimbledon final against Federer, when he won the title after winning a tiebreak at 12-12 in the fifth.
"When talking about those matches, it's about visualization and preparing yourself for all possible situations. I try to play a match in my head before entering the court. I couldn't have predicted that scenario, but I always imagine myself as a winner"
"With that strength of will, you must have the strength that comes from your mental and emotional side. For me that's the eternal battle within me, bigger than the one that happens outside. All the situations that happen on the court aren't the ones that hurt, it's how you handle those situations, how you handle them, how you survive them", added Novak.
Even though they are all over 30, Djokovic, Federer and Nadal are still dominant in the world of tennis. He says they are his biggest motive.
"We make each other stronger, we demand each other to improve our game. The two of them are probably the biggest reason why I am still competing at this level. The fact that they are part of history still inspires and motivates me to do the same they did, even more", concluded Djokovic.
On Sunday in the afternoon session Novak will play his first match of the tournament, and his opponent will be Matteo Berrettini. The evening session is reserved for Roger Federer and Dominic Thiem.