ROLEX PARIS MASTERS

November 2, 2026

Novak Djokovic

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. A very non-tennis question. I was just in Serbia last week, and I have to say I have not seen so many happy people in my life. A lot of people said that, among many things, they felt that you have been treated quite unfairly by people high up in Serbia, I guess, people were trying to discredit you, maybe criticize you. What's that been like to deal with as someone who has obviously you've dedicated a lot of your success to your country, right, and you're a very patriotic person?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Yeah, look, I'm not gonna discuss or comment on the past. You know, past is past. Hopefully this is a fresh start for the country.

Yes, I am patriotic, but I have always represented my people and not the government. There is a big difference in that.

Yeah, so I'm happy with these changes, and hopefully, you know, things will be great and prosperous for our country in the future.

Q. For two years we felt that the Grand Slams was the main source of motivation for you. Since the US Open, you play much more on the tour with much more efficiency and commitment. Did something change, especially?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, Grand Slams remain, of course, the most important tournaments we have. I mean, for me, and I think for 99% of the players, they are, you know, the pillars, the historic pillars of our sport of where you want to play your best tennis and make your name known in the history books of tennis.

So, you know, I still want to do my best in slams, but, you know, of course I also would like to play well in other tournaments.

This year the kind of focus shifted on feeling well on the court rather than playing well, to be honest, because for most of the tournaments that I played, I didn't play many, it was health-wise a big struggle. Physically, you know, just struggled a lot.

Had nothing to do with my preparation or whether I'm training enough, because I see there are a lot of people that love to express their expert opinion on knowing exactly what's happening with me, but they don't.

But nevertheless, you know, as I said, whenever I kind of felt better on the court, and lately that has been the case, we're really getting closer to solving what I have been going through in the last 12 months, so, you know, right away my performance level, my enjoyment on the court, my feeling is great, and I play better.

Beijing was the best week of the year, other than Australia, and I thought I played pretty well in Basel, as well. Of course that was a tight match to lose, but yeah, you know, just trying to enjoy the last couple weeks of the season and on the court feeling better primarily, as I said.

And then the performance will come. Yeah, we'll see after that.

Q. Welcome back to Paris. You have talked about yoga, meditation, and conscious breathing throughout your career. As you have moved from your late 20s to your late 30s, how has the role of those practices in your tennis evolved for you? Is the emphasis more on the body today or more on the mind?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: It has always been about body/mind connection. It's never more or less on either of the two.

You know, I come from the part of the world where, you know, yoga and meditation are not really widespread practice, but, you know, I've always been very, how can I say, open-minded and willing to learn and to understand how I can improve the way I feel, the way I train, the way I recover.

Absolutely conscious breathing was always a focal point of my practice. It's been like that since the very young age. I've been fortunate to come across some people at the beginning of my career that have pointed out the importance of taking care of yourself in a kind of a holistic manner.

So I still, of course, practice a lot of those things. I developed my own, how can I say, routines and habits that, you know, help me, I guess, feel better and just optimize my health.