The Serbian team led by Novak Djokovic attended the media at the previous press conference for the Davis Cup 2021.
The motivation of the Serbian team
Serbia will debut on Friday, November 26 in Innsbruck against local Austria on a field that will not host an audience as a result of the restrictions caused. “It’s great to be back with the Davis Cup team. The last memory we had was quite sad for what happened, but we were also very motivated to try again.or ”, affirmed the No.1 of the world. “Here we are together once again, we are good friends off the court. There is great chemistry between us and that is one of the essential ingredients for success.“. He expressed that there is a good community in a team in which he was the last to reach the concentration.
He also explained his opinion on the three venues. “This year the format is different. Three different venues with two groups. Davis Cup as a competition should be experienced by more people. So I am in favor of this year’s format and that there are more countries that can host the group playoffs..”
No confidence despite the casualties of Germany and Austria
“I’m sure they would like to have their best players, but they are still strong teams, especially Germany with players like Struff and Koepfer. They are very dangerous players on different surfaces. We don’t underestimate teams just because their best player is missing. We come with the best possible squad to try to compete regardless of the other teams. We try to organize ourselves as best as possible. It is a long way to get to Madrid although there is not much room for mistakes. Even if you lose a tie you can pass, but we want to pass as winners ”.
Playing again without an audience
“With or without a home crowd against Austria it’s a big difference. A large Serbian community would also make a difference for us. It is not the first time we have played in an empty stadium. We have experienced it often in the last year and we are going to adapt. Of course we are saddened that there are no fans. Even though we don’t play at home, fans are an integral part of our game. We feed on their energy, their drive, their passion. Especially in Davis Cup where it is allowed to cheer more and the atmosphere is more vibrant and noisy. Regardless of the opponent’s classification, I prepare for the game as if it were another. I think I have never played against Dennis, so I have to do my job in the background, go out on the pitch and start strong to get a victory for Serbia “concluded Djokovic in the preview of the Davis Cup 2021.
