Following the main press conference in English, Novak Djokovic held another press conference in Serbian.
This is what he said in Serbian, translated to English:
On the final loss and his belief in God:
It’s a very bitter taste and feeling when you lose a grand slam final, especially in this situation that I’ve been in for many years now, and when I had the chance to go to the grand slam final again this year. I don’t know how God will arrange things in the future, I don’t know if I’ll have the opportunity to play a grand slam final again.
I really got off to a phenomenal start and then it turned around…
God always knows best and I accept that at all times …All is well.
I have many more things in my life that I should be grateful for and less proud, but of course now, after the match, I have that disappointment.
On his emotional address to the public and his playing future:
I don’t know if I’ll see them face to face or not ... I’m not pretending, I’m not twisting things ... I said it as it is. I said that I would like to play in the 2028 Olympics, that maybe means that I can go to one tournament a year, maybe 10, maybe 15, maybe two. I don’t want to make decisions for so far away … in the future... Now my only wish is to be with my family and then I’ll see. I don’t have a plan. Honestly, now I can’t talk about any further steps and tournaments.
As I said on the court, the crowd gave me emotions in the last two matches that I had never experienced here in totality and I am very grateful that I finally experienced it because I think I deserved it and I really thank them from the bottom of my heart.”
About the wind:
It definitely hit me, I lost that last game when I was playing against the wind … mistakes from the forehand, it is felt on the court a lot...it affects it a lot. But what can you do, that’s not an excuse for him or for me,
On his health:
Some other things happened in terms of health, which influenced the sudden turnaround on court.
That annoyed me the most. You can win, you can lose... I’m proud of my fight, but it really annoys me that it has happened so often in the last two years... I was in perfect condition, 6:2, everything is going well, I feel the ball and then ... a sudden drop in energy.
Asked to reveal more about what caused this energy, Djokovic said:
I can’t, I can’t, I don’t want to, sorry.
On being told people online are comparing him to the winning from of basketball legend Michael Jordan and the endurance of LeBron James:
Thank you, what do you say?
I’m a huge basketball fan so it’s a great honour [to hear] that people have described how they see me.
Final words:
Just a message for our people in Serbia, justice always wins, let them persevere.
(As we have reported earlier, Djokovic has fallen out of favour with Serbian authorities after publicly supporting year-long anti-government, student-led protests, including voicing support at last year’s Open.)