RAFAEL NADAL ON ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL YEAR - ‘Overall it has been an amazing year, achieving important tournaments, being in a privileged position of the ranking, I have been a father a few weeks ago, so overall an amazing year, but at the same time it has been a tough year with a lot of issues with the body, but overall, I take it’.
NOVAK DJOKOVIC ON PLAYING THE NITTO ATP FINALS AS A LOWER SEED - ’This is going to be the first time that I’m going to play the number one or number two seeds in the Tour finals for the first time after many years and I don’t feel like I’m as young as the other guys as it’s been a while since the first participation in the finals, but I’m motivated and looking forward to the challenge and right from the blocks I need to be focussed like I’m playing the final’.
STEFANOS TSITSIPAS ON HIS MENTALITY - ‘I’m never satisfied by doing the same thing over and over again, I’m always trying to find new creative ways to perform a certain task and play in any conditions. I just need to stay as alive as possible, to stay in that moment, to slow time down. If I’m able to slow time down, then I’m able to see and predict and execute and I guess that’s what adrenaline does to you, it makes things so fast without thinking sometimes’.
CASPER RUUD ON EXCEEDING HIS EXPECTATIONS - ’This year the goal was to reach a quarter-final of a Grand Slam because I’d never done that before and then Australia came and I rolled my ankle the day before the tournament, so that hurt obviously, so when Paris came around I was looking to seek some revenge and try to seize the opportunity and I was able to do so and the final there made me realise I can make it far on the Grand Slam stages and I don’t think I would have made the final of the US Open if I hadn’t done it in Paris’.
TAYLOR FRITZ ON HIS NITTO ATP FINALS DEBUT - ‘Being American I didn’t really have anywhere to go after my early exit in Paris, so I went on a nice little three day vacation, more like a spa to get my body really good and then I’ve been here since Monday just getting ready’.
DANIIL MEDVEDEV ON REACHING WORLD NUMBER 1 IN 2022 - 'If you want to finish year-end number one you have to play good from the start to the end and now the goal is to make a better whole year. I have the possibility to earn a lot of points in the biggest tournaments in the world and I didn’t do that this year and that’s what I’m going to try to do next year’.
NEAL SKUPSKI ON MAKING HIS DEBUT IN THE DOUBLES ALONGSIDE WESLEY KOOLHOF - ‘Over the years I’ve watched it on the tv and always wanted to play. I grew up watching the Bryan brothers play here and it was amazing to watch them, but Wes has won it before, so I’m going to pick his brain as much as I can to see what he did a couple of years ago, but yeah, I’m looking forward to it’.
PLUS LLEYTON HEWITT AND DANIIL MEDVEDEV LOOK BACK ON WINNING THE NITTO ATP FINALS AND HOLGER RUNE TALKS US THROUGH WHAT HE TRAVELS WITH - FEATURES COURTESY OF ATP UNCOVERED
- Podcast presented by Seb Lauzier
- Interviews by Seb Lauzier, Richard Connelly, Jill Craybas
- Doubles preview by Barry Cowan
- Lleyton Hewitt, Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Holger Rune features by ATP Uncovered
