Djokovic announced a rematch with Zverev: I fell apart in Tokyo, now I will be ready

Djokovic announced a rematch with Zverev: I fell apart in Tokyo, now I will be ready

Speaking at a press conference after the victory over Matteo Berrettini, Novak recalled the last match between the two of them, that is, the painful defeat at the Olympic Games in Tokyo.

Then, the Serbian ace had the match in his hands, but his play "fell apart" and he was defeated.

"Look, the Olympic Games have been tough ending for me emotionally. But I did dominate the tournament to semifinals. I was 6-1, 3-2 against Zverev, who was also playing very well. Just I played great, great tennis. Then unfortunately game fell apart. It happens", Djokovic recalled.

And he continued to analyze that encounter: "I just started to doubt my shots a bit. He started to read my serve well. He has a tremendous serve. He got a lot of free points on his service games. Next thing you know he won it. He won it comfortably in the end. Deserved to win a gold medal obviously with the way he was playing. He hasn't lost a match since".

After winning over Berrettini

"Yeah, best three sets I've played - second, third and fourth - in the tournament so far. I think I managed to raise the level of my tennis. When I dropped the first set, I just went to a different level and I stayed there till the last point. That's something that definitely encourages me and gives me a lot of confidence prior to semifinals", Novak said at press conference after the match.

"It was a great battle. Always is with Matteo. He's very powerful player. He's got one of the best 1-2 punch in the game. Forehand from any position really. Serve, one of the biggest serves we have in tennis. Just difficult player to player against. He likes the big stage. He brings a lot of energy, a lot of intensity on the court. I feel like my game, I stepped it up, and my game has improved definitely during the last couple matches. It's going in the right direction so far", Novak concluded.

Here's what Matteo Berrettini had to say on the GOAT debate between Federer, Nadal and Djokovic, after being defeated in the quarter finals: “Everybody can say the GOAT is one player or the other player. There are still some people that think John McEnroe or Pete Sampras or Andre Agassi was just better. It’s a personal feeling. I think this is what is great about the sport. For example, for me, LeBron James is better than Michael Jordan, but it’s not that they’re going to kill me for that. It’s just my personal feeling. Because I wasn’t born when Jordan was playing. It's an honor to play against Novak".

Novak praised Zverev's performance on the tournament so far:

"He's in a fantastic form. Next to Medvedev, best form. But it's best-of-five. It's Grand Slam. Of course looking at his results in past few years, he's played very well here on this court. He was a couple points away from his first slam last year against Dominic Thiem", Novak said.

"I know it's going to be battle, even harder than it was today. But I'm ready for it. Look, these are the hurdles that I need to overcome in order to get to the desired destination. Result is something that I can't predict, but I can definitely put myself in the best possible state of mind and body to perform as well as I can", Djokovic claims.

"I know his game. As I said, I know his game very well. I've seen him play. He's been playing very, very well. Again, semis. When we face each other, there's nerves, a lot of things on the line. It could go both ways. I think very few points will really determine the winner there. Let's see what happens", Novak concluded.

Novak didn't want to talk about history and a chance of completing the calendar-year Grand Slam, a feat that hasn’t been accomplished in men’s tennis in more than half a century.

"I've been getting that question quite a lot recently, which is understandable. But I had enough of answering that. I just said millions of times that of course I'm aware of the history, of course it gives me motivation. If I start to think about it too much, it burdens me mentally. I want to really go back to the basics and what really works for me mentally", Novak said.

"Again, I'm in a position that is very unique. I'm very grateful for that. I'm inspired to play my best tennis. But I know what works for me to win just the next match. I know that a lot of people want to hear me talking about it. But let's talk about it hopefully on Sunday", Novak pointed out at the end of press conference.