N. DJOKOVIC/N. Borges
6-3, 7-6
THE MODERATOR: Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the press conference of Novak Djokovic. We'll go straight to questions.
Q. It was a full house tonight, packed stadium, sold out from the VIP box all the way up to the roof. Talk about your performance. Are you happy with your level, particularly in the opening match of the tournament? Also the energy from the crowd...
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Very pleasant surprise to see the full stadium in the first round. I remember from playing here 11 years ago or more that people would come in big numbers to watch tennis matches and their favorite players. They have a great tennis passion and tradition in this city, in this country. They have proven once more that today. They definitely exceeded my expectations (smiling).
I'm very grateful and thankful to be able to be part of such an amazing atmosphere. It was electric, full stadium. I was a bit nervous, really wanting to do well and wanting to win the match, which was my first win since Wimbledon. I'm really glad to overcome the first hurdle. It was a tough match, as expected.
But yeah, the crowd support was phenomenal.
Q. Yesterday morning you visited the Summer Palace. You got two customized seals as souvenirs. After the match you used it to sign for your fans. Share with us more about that moment.
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Actually yesterday when I got the stamp or the seal, I personalized one. I came up with the idea to use it in case I win the match. After the match I thought in a sense recognize the Chinese tradition and culture and heritage, but at the same time also have fun with it and do something different.
It doesn't work on the ball. It works on just specific paper as a surface. I was kind of mixing between the Sharpie and that.
I don't know if fans liked it or not, but I tried to do something different. Yeah, it was fun.
Q. You've talked about your good communications and interaction with the Chinese fans. How do you feel about the fan power in the past few days? Could you share some stories about the fans.
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Yeah, what I'm experiencing here throughout my career in China with fans, the interaction that I have with them, I'm not experiencing this anywhere around the world.
The passion and incredible loyalty and commitment they have towards me - and I see some other players experiencing something similar in the last 20 years - is just tremendous honestly.
They come in front of the hotel. They wait. They spend hours just to be able to see you, interact shortly with you, get a signature, picture. It's lovely.
Honestly I try obviously primarily to bring back the respect and appreciation with great performance on the court, the reason why I'm here, but at the same time have interaction with them off the court, as well.
Yeah, I'm very, very grateful for their support.
Q. You faced some pressure in the first set on your serve. You seemed to raise your level, as you often do. You also raised your level in the tiebreak. How are you able to raise your level in these moments? What is your mental process?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Yeah, well, serving well and winning free points off the first serve and high percentage of first serve makes the life easier on the court. No doubt about it.
I think when I struggled a bit physically in the second set, I really needed that serve. I got that serve going for me. It really helped in the crucial moments.
Then I think in the tiebreak, really it was taking one point at a time and really trying to get that mini break, get ahead early, which I did. That helps. When you get ahead 3-0, it's a different kind of mindset I think for both players. If you're trailing 3-0 in the tiebreak, it feels that you have to put double as much effort to get back on track, try to have a chance in the tiebreak.
Once I got 3-0 up, I felt like I'm in a very good kind of driver position here. I kept it going. Serving really helped. Even in that tiebreak, I had some really big first serves that enabled me to win points quickly.
At this level, if you have big serve, serve plus-one, if you're efficient with that, it's a huge advantage. Then you can kind of be a bit more aggressive on the return games, which I have. I mean, I try to do.
I think he played quite well, particularly in the second set. In his service games, he was aggressive. He was changing the pace, hitting the spots well with the serve. Yeah, credit to him as well for a quality match. I think people who were there watching enjoyed it and appreciated the quality of the tennis they saw.
Q. Your next opponent is Chinese player Bu Yunchaokete. This will be your first time facing him. What impression do you have of him? How do you expect this match?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, playing Chinese player in China is definitely not fun (smiling). I'm sure it's going to be electric atmosphere. He's going to have a lot of support.
But at the same time I like my chances when I'm playing this kind of level of tennis. I like my chances really against anyone. So just hopefully physically I can be fit, I can be fresh.
We'll probably most likely play the night session again in few days' time. Let's see. It's a bit cooler conditions from the first days of training. The ball slows down a bit. The bounce is lower. So I think it favors players like Bu, who likes to play fast and flat, plays quite aggressive and close to the line.
I have seen him play a little bit. Of course, I'm going to have to do my analysis. I played Wu as well in Wimbledon the first time.
It's good to see the up-and-coming men's tennis players from China doing well. They possess quality. It was just a matter of time when China was going to produce talent on the men's side. On the women's side we know you have champions. The men's side is still not at the level of the women's, but it's getting there.
I think it's important for a country like China, who really invests a lot in tennis, and they have done that over the past few decades, so it's important that you have multiple quality players competing at the highest level, both men's and women's.
I'm glad they're all doing well. Hopefully Bu will stop doing well in few days' time.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports