Q. He proved to be a very, very difficult opponent; how tough of a match was it out there?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Very tough. I mean, you could see by the result and by the time we spent on the court, in general I was really trying to stay in the match all the time, because even though I lost that first set, which was crucial, I think if I got that first set under my belt, it would be maybe easier in some way, but the good thing about that second set, is that I stayed really focused. Whenever I needed to serve it out, he was stepping in, really, and he surprised me there.
Obviously he didn't have much to lose as a youngster, and he's on the road. He won New Haven and he won a couple matches here, and he was on the Center Court for the first time, if I'm not mistaken, and so he was really stepping in and I played a bit too defensive. I was waiting for his mistakes, and I was wrong.

Q. Is it, in a way at this stage, is it good to have a match -- obviously it wears your body out but is it good to have a match like this?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Last year I had a match against Stepanek which was really extremely difficult, one of the toughest in my career. I reached the finals, so it could be the same this year, hopefully, I mean. But it's always good to have in the early stages long matches, a little hustle, you know, struggle on the tennis court, so now I'm motivated to get far.


Q. You had so many rallies that were 20 shots or more, and they could have gone either way. What, in your opinion, why did you triumph in the end?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, little experience here and there, but I think it was more -- it was more just the fight and just the focus I had in the end in that crucial fourth set tiebreak. I think I managed to get myself together after that two match points, you know, he saved, and he was 6-5 up, he won that first point, won 6-5 on my serve. I didn't feel good in that moment, that's for sure.
As I said, I was mentally strong. So for me, this match is extremely important mentally to continue on going.

Q. Is that mental strength, is that something you feel as if it's something you always had, or does the success you had here last year and in Australia this year, does that...
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, I always kind of managed to get through those tough matches. You know, I lost some and but I won more. Even in the juniors, I was managing to play the best tennis when I needed to play.
You know, this is very, very good thing and very encouraging for me for the future, you know. Bottom line is that everybody's playing great tennis, physically they are very fit, but if you're mentally able to play the best tennis in the most important moments, then you're different in the others.

Q. Do you feel old at 21 when you have all these teenagers...
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: What I have been through in all these years, yes, I do feel a little old, like I played tennis all my life, but, no, it's good for the sport to see new teenagers and rising stars coming up, couple of really tall guys, Cilic and Del Potro and Nishikori. They're all top 10 players. I'm sure we're going to see them in the future.

Q. How surprising is it to you like Cilic making the strides that he's made here, he won two of the Grands, Australia and at Wimbledon, like you say he has the New Haven victory?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: The thing which surprises me a lot with his game is his movement, you know, when he you look at him physically, he's very tall, and the way he walks, you know, doesn't seem that he has a great coordination best of your recollection on the court he's just great, so this is a great thing, and plus he improved his serve a lot. For him, relief is that he's -- he can use his height, you know, and he can really rip that serve, and he was putting a lot of pressure on me.
I'm not surprised that he was doing well lately. He's certainly going to do even better.

Q. If you could talk about Tommy. He's, you know, he's beaten Marat and he beat Tsonga. I mean, he's well-tuned coming into this match?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Sure, sure. I can expect big fight from his side, and he knows that he's confident and he's going to go. He's going to go for the victory, that's for sure.
The good thing about Grand Slams, you have a day off. You can recover. I have good team of people around me, and I'm sure I'm going to be recovered enough for the upcoming match.
I just need to play my game, you know, be aggressive like I always played against Robredo, won a couple times, and I lost, as well. It's going to be interesting. We haven't played for a long time.


(via ASAP Sports, photo/AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

Novak Djokovic - US Open 31. August Interview