N. DJOKOVIC/A. de Minaur
7-6, 0-1 (ret.)
THE MODERATOR: Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the press conference of Novak Djokovic, our China Open 2026 champion.
We will start with questions.
Q. Congratulations on a very successful week. When you landed in Beijing a week ago, before the first ball was struck, what was the mindset? What did you expect here? Now that you have the trophy, what is that mental journey of where you sit now?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, I landed here quite early to be honest, Saturday, more than 10 days ago. I really wanted to get myself in the right shape to prepare as best as I can to be able to have the week that thankfully I had. I wanted to keep the streak going.
Beijing was always my happy place. It continues to be. I always have high expectations for myself. The goals and desires are always high, particularly in a place where I never lost before.
I haven't been here 11 years. I had a year filled with struggle and challenges, not many great results after the finals of Australian Open. Yeah, I didn't know how I'm going to feel because the American swing was terrible in terms of feeling on the court, health-wise and physically.
I must say in some of the matches here I did struggle, as well. I managed to kind of push through and really dig deep, turned some matches around.
Of course, I'm very proud of the achievement here. It came at the best possible time as a confidence booster, as a proof that I can still play on the highest level. Winning against three top-10 players in a matter of three days back to back is a great achievement.
I'm obviously filled with joy.
Q. We spoke with fans who traveled all the way from other parts of the country just to come to watch you play. They told us how happy they were to be in this special moment. What makes these Chinese fans special to you? Is there anything you'd like to say to them?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I would like to express my gratitude once more for incredible support. Honestly, the Chinese fans are probably the most amazing tennis fans that I see anywhere around the world.
This country has always given me lots of support. This year has been tremendous, honestly. I haven't been here 11 years. Okay, I didn't know what to expect. I felt it's going to be a positive energy and interaction. I did not expect the stadium to be full for every single match from the first round and people to be so joyful and passionate about me being here, playing in front of them.
It's just the best crowd support I have anywhere outside of Serbia, that's for sure, is here in China. The amount of presents they give me, the amount of time they spend to be able to interact even shortly with me, waiting in front of the hotel, tennis club, the stadium, outside, it's remarkable honestly.
I try to always remind myself how special that is, how privileged I am. Yeah, that also explains why I play well in China, why I feel good, because people make me feel like I'm Chinese, like I'm playing at home. The only thing I need is to learn Chinese and get the passport and we are good (smiling).
Q. Might seem easy the last two matches. In the match with Sascha, you were trailing by a set. It's 4-All in the second, 30-All. You go to the net and get passed. Basically one point, if you lose, you are out of the tournament. You hit another serve and volley, you save the break point, win the match. Now you're the tournament champion. It's fascinating because you've been doing this over two decades against Roger and Rafa in slam finals. Now against players half your age you show the exact same heart you've been showing for two decades. How are you able to still do this after all these years?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: That's a good question. Thank you for phrasing it that way.
The grit is not something that you're born with. It's something that really needs to be built. It needs to be developed. It's developed in those weeks or days when no one is watching.
When everybody's watching of course on the court, they either admire or criticize. Everyone, I guess, sees it from their perspective and they have their own judgment of how you play, what you should have done, how you're doing it.
The point is that individual sport like tennis requires 100% of commitment and dedication to the sport, not only when it comes to training but when it comes to full lifestyle.
With all my respect to all the other sports, I think there's some incredible sports out there, I'm a big sportsfan, but I think there's no sport like tennis.
If you're not feeling good one day, you're out. You can't sit down on the bench and someone comes in and replaces you, substitutes you.
It's also quite a cruel sport because it's a knockout system. We have one tournament a year which is World Tour Finals in Turin where you have group format. Everything else is knockout. If you lose first round because one day you didn't sleep well, you have food poisoning, whatever it is, you lose, you're out. But that's what makes also our sport so demanding and so special.
So I think the long answer to that is really the grit and dedication and kind of never-die spirit that really is always with me.
When I'm on the court, regardless who is across the net, I'm not really giving anything. I'm really pushing myself to the very limit, particularly when you play finals of big tournaments in front of the full stadium.
Yeah, I always feel that extra pressure and significance in a privileged status that I have, coming out on any tournament, any court in the world, particularly in the last whatever, five years. There's something very special about walking out on a court, being who you are. People expect you to be at your best. That adds responsibility, as well.
It's a motivational factor. If you're not feeling well, also it can burden you. You can feel so much weight on your shoulders.
But it is what I have been destined to do. I really believe that God has given me this opportunity and talent to be who I am and to be where I am. I'm grateful. I'm trying to fulfill my mission and potential as much as possible.
People come, as she mentioned, across all China or all the world to watch you maybe one time in their life. Kobe Bryant used to say that. He would always want to play because there probably is always at least one or more fans that are coming maybe the only time to see you perform.
You're not just playing for yourself; you're playing for people, for the sport. There's much more that you carry if you're a star player.
Q. Your record here in China Open is spectacular. Your experience in China also. Off topic. I want to know, is there anything else about Chinese culture you want to experience more in the future?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Yeah, absolutely. I respect Chinese culture and tradition very much. Actually I was staying in a hotel that is just next to Summer Palace. I've been going there every day (smiling). No joke. I've been going there every single day. That's kind of part of the routine of having a walk around the Summer Palace.
A lot of people, yes. I put my hat and my glasses and I run or I walk and I just go and explore the nature. I love the hills. Just being around nature and trees, it kind of gives me a good start of the day in a sense, a good walk.
But this Summer Palace is more than just nature. It's a stunning place, but it has incredible history and tradition. You can feel that every step of the way with so many incredible dynasties that you had that were ruling the country.
I'm very much interested in Chinese culture. Always have been. Chinese traditional medicine has been one of my favorite paths to follow, let's say, in terms of medicine and healthcare. I've been practicing also some of the ancient practices like Qigong.
I'm a big China fan. I really am. Again, these kind of results are no surprise. They're not an accident. All these things are complementary one to another and make me feel really good here.
Q. When you first landed in Beijing, a lot of fans were thinking probably it might be your last time in Beijing before retirement. It might be too early to talk about it. Are you willing to come back to Beijing another time to defend your undefeated record? Or this might be the last time?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: We will see (smiling). I will be back in Beijing, for sure. In which role and how, I don't know yet (smiling). I don't know yet, to be honest.
I am not making plans for so much ahead right now. I'm kind of more really following of how I'm feeling, how good I'm playing, how quickly I'm able to recover. The scheduling sways quite a lot. It's not as set in stone as it was for 20 years.
But I will be back in China, for sure. Let's see. I don't know if I'm going to be playing a tournament. I would like to. One year is quite a long time right now for me to understand my schedule.
But yeah, I would also like this unbeaten run to stay unbeaten. It would be nice.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports