- How does it feel to wake up in the morning in the rank of Grand Slam champion?
- To be honest, after the victory I didn’t sleep very much, about three hours.
Both on a physical and psychological level, a flurry of emotions fell upon me.
But first of all, of course, I'm happy and very relieved to have achieved what I've dreamed of for a long time.
- Was it important for you to win your first title in New York?
- As you know, there are four Grand Slam tournaments a year.
And to be honest, it doesn't really matter which one you win.
Major is Major.
It doesn't matter on what surface and in what country.
But of course I love playing in the USA.
Not only majors - I'm talking about all tournaments in general.
I usually do well here in principle and have won several titles already.
I like the local conditions.
- But in 2021 you were the first to be seeded at the tournament so high ...
- I knew that at the US Open I always have good chances.
Since 2019, I have made it to the semifinals three times in a row on the Flushing Meadows courts.
It's great that this year I was able to draw the line in this story with a victory.
I said the same thing before the semifinals.
Everyone asked me what it was like to break into the top 4 again.
I replied, "I hope I will do better this time than the previous two years."
And I really did it.
- You must be especially pleased, given the behavior of some of the fans after you took the lead with a score of 5: 2 in the third set
.
- Yes, the end of the match was not easy.
It is worth noting that due to the pandemic, there was a period when we generally played in front of empty stands.
The bottom line is that the audience actively supported me all week, and this year we did not experience conflicting feelings towards each other.
I think it was not that they were opposed to me, they just really wanted Novak to win.
There were many Serbian fans in the stands.
It was definitely not easy for me, but this really makes the victory even sweeter.
- What were you thinking at the moment when Djokovic played the championship matchball, and then took your serve for the first time?
- Thoughts were few.
The main challenge was to stay focused and keep trying to bring the match to victory.
After all, everyone knows what Novak can be, how he knows how to get out of hopeless situations in some completely insane matches.
I was 100% focused and ready to bring the match to victory, which I did later.
- Did the fact that Novak was under tremendous pressure to win the calendar helmet give you a psychological advantage?
- I think it helped me in the end.
I knew that he would be at times uncomfortable due to the need to meet multiple expectations.
At the same time, this is Djokovic, and, as a rule, he only plays better under any burden.
I understood that from the very beginning of the match I needed to put pressure on him, but not give him the opportunity to become stronger and feed on it.
It was a very important moment in the match, and I am very glad that I managed to realize my plan.
- At the awards ceremony after the final match, you surprised many by telling the Serb that he is the best tennis player in history. Did you realize this during the finale?
- No, no, I realized it even earlier.
This is the first time I've said this, but completely sincere.
It was just the right moment.
I don't plan to repeat it, I don't see the point.
- The final took place on the day of your third wedding anniversary, and you publicly admitted that you really wanted to make a gift to Daria. So the motivation went off scale?
- You can't have more motivation than the motivation to win a Grand Slam tournament.
That in itself means a lot.
But the fact that it was my wedding anniversary on the final day added one, five or ten percent to my motivation for sure and made the victory sweeter.
And I am very glad that we managed to achieve it, because otherwise this day would be rather sad.