The Serbian player explains how he sees the progress of the Brazilian star, as well as revealing all the details about his alliance with Andy Murray.
Striving for a better level
“I haven’t really done well in Indian Wells and Miami since 2016 or 2017, and I struggled to find my best game here. I’m not getting any younger, I know, but I definitely want to go far in the tournament. I think I’ve done the right thing in preparation. I’ve been playing good tennis these days, so we’ll see. Let’s see how far I can go.”
His alliance with Andy Murray
“Personally, I want to move on, just like the day we finished the tournament (the Australian Open), so I told him. It took him some time to step back and reflect on the partnership, talk to his people, his family, and see how much he wanted to commit and where he could travel with me and work in terms of schedule. I was very pleased when he decided to continue, Indian Wells, Miami, and most of the clay-court season.
We’ll talk after Miami, obviously, but I think the plan is to continue until the end of Roland Garros, I think, and hopefully Wimbledon, too. I’m enjoying the relationship with Andy. I still feel like we’re going through the process of getting to know each other on the court in a different way than we’ve known each other for 25 years”.
On Joao Fonseca
“It feels really good when you’re so young and playing at a high level, there’s not much to lose, a lot to gain. The attention from people, the support, all add up and it all contributes to a great evolution of the player and the personality will eventually reach a point where it will become pressure and expectations from oneself, from others, and so on. Joao seems to be handling everything very well.
I don’t know him personally that well, but from what I’ve seen on the court, not only how he plays, but how he behaves, and the people around him, it seems there is a very good level of balance and professionalism and dedication, like what we’ve seen over the past two years with Alcaraz. He has the potential to really be a superstar of this game. Without a doubt. He also comes from Brazil, one of the largest countries in the world, where they love tennis, love sports, very passionate people”.
