Djokovic opens up when talking about Fonseca: "He is fantastic, but we must not forget about.."

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Novak Djokovic continues to advance and gain confidence in the Miami Open 2025. The Serbian overcame the obstacle of Camilo Ugo Carabelli to reach the round of 16, regaining his smile and returning to the path of victory in a tournament that, beyond his presence, has opened up in terms of favorites. Novak was asked in a press conference about the possibility of matching Connors' title record, whether being number one is still a goal for him... and about the great sensation of the tournament, a Joao Fonseca who captivates the Latin crowd.

- Connors is the tennis player with the most titles in history, 109. Novak has 99... Is that an objective he would like to achieve?

"You could say so, yes. It would be incredible to achieve that record, for sure. Connors is someone I admire and respect wholeheartedly. He has always supported me a lot in public, which I appreciate. It would be amazing. However, it is probably more difficult for me to achieve now than it was a few years ago. I am taking it step by step, we will see. I don't know how long I will keep competing, but I still enjoy it when I play well."

- How does it feel to be the world number one with no one better than you? Is that a sensation you long to reclaim?

"No, it's not something that matters much. If it comes as a consequence of great results and titles I can achieve in a season, then fantastic, but it's not my goal. My goal is to be able to play my best tennis in the Grand Slams and the tournaments I participate in. My schedule is reviewed, so obviously I'm not chasing points for the ranking. Nowadays, it is different from what it was a few years ago and during most of my career. I will be happier if I win a Grand Slam and a big tournament than if I reach number one, it is more important to me right now."

- Evaluation of those days when you were number one

"Those were different times, with different goals. I planned my route in a way that I played a lot, thought about points, where I had to defend and not, there were many thoughts devoted to that. However, I have always tried to work on my schedule in a way that I still have weeks of training, which are always very significant for the whole team, where I can build my mental and physical state to shine in the big tournaments."

"Yes, at that time there was more to think about in terms of setting objectives. There is less of that now, less pressure, for example, to feel like suddenly I have to play next week because I didn't earn enough points this week. I don't have that anymore. For me, nowadays it's about playing where I want to play, where I enjoy playing, and making the most of it."

- Your opinion on Joao Fonseca

"He's been talked about a lot in recent months, and rightfully so. He's a great tennis player. Very young. An incredible force from both sides of the baseline. Serve. He's a very complete player. The way he hits the ball is impressive, but even more so is how he handles nerves, especially as someone who doesn't have much experience yet at the highest level."

"It's exciting for Brazil and for the tennis world. As I said in Australia, for the tennis ecosystem, it's very important to have future stars, in this case someone coming from Brazil, a huge country, with a large market, it's significant. Everyone knows that here in Miami he will have a lot of support."

"He's a very entertaining player to watch, but he's not the only one. There's also Mensik. Perhaps, because people talk so much about Fonseca, they forget about Mensik. They are the same age. There's also Tien: all these players are very young, but they are already as good as their rankings suggest."

"He's a fantastic player to watch. I'm not sure if I should call it a product of the new, new generation. It's fantastic to see players emerging who have the potential to reach the highest levels and lead this sport. It's clear that Sinner and Alcaraz are the leaders of today, they are still very young, but these guys seem like they could knock on their doors in the coming years."

- Today you trained with Federico Gómez, whom you supported a few weeks ago after he confessed to having suicidal thoughts

"Today we trained, he was the one who did my pre-match warm-up, but we didn't have much time to talk. I think we also have a training session tomorrow, so I hope to have more time to reflect on that situation. I identify with many of the things he wrote, honestly. We all have dark moments, psychologically and emotionally we go through a lot... I have a lot of empathy for him. I already told him that I'm here, to help in any way if he wants to share."

- A photo already circulating on social media: playing Ludo before the match with Murray and his team

"Yes, it's one of the games we play. It's a board game, Ludo, quite competitive. It's very intense, I must say. I don't think we have a video of how it ended, but I'll tell you that my agent Mark (Madden) and I beat Andy and Carlos (Gómez Herrera). It was great. Even better than a victory on the court. I enjoyed it very much."

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Djokovic se sincera al hablar de Fonseca: "Es fantástico, pero no nos podemos olvidar de..."