Nikoloz Basilashvili – Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. How surprised were you that you only dropped five games in the whole match against such a good player?

NIKOLOZ BASILASHVILI: Quite surprised, for sure. I know Karen is not having his best time at this moment. But I think I also did not have great beginning of the season. How I was able to manage my nerves just whole match, especially in the windy conditions, really tough, really happy for sure.

Q. When you play a match like this against a player of his ranking – you’re not much further off – do you see there’s something going on on the other side? Did you sense there was something?

NIKOLOZ BASILASHVILI: No. I’m just doing my job. I’m not really far from him. I have 19. Just doing my job. I think, as I said, conditions were tough today. I played really well. I executed my plan really good. For sure Karen is really good player. This score makes me happy for sure.

Q. What makes the DDF Tennis Champion unique to other tournaments around the world?

NIKOLOZ BASILASHVILI: I actually played here second time. I played three, four years ago in quallies. So far I really like because it’s really comfortable tournament. The hotel is on-site. Organization, everything, is really good. Dubai is one of the best cities for sure in the world. It makes it real easy. Comfortable. For sure we don’t have any problems with practice courts. There’s a lot of courts, so easy on that. In general, yeah, so far I’m really happy to be here.

Q. In terms of your career, what is the next step after this tournament?

NIKOLOZ BASILASHVILI: Just to stay focused, do what I have to do, stay calm. Yeah, not really particular some kind of ranking goal I have, but just to play well and stay focused.