Sampras? He won seven titles at Wimbledon. Federer? It was surpassed with 21 career slam successes. Nadal? Closer after an escape attempt between Melbourne and Paris. The remarkable success of Djokovic in the tournament has great value and many meanings, which justifies the great satisfaction after the winning match point, and is also tangible in the answers given to journalists at the press conference. “I am naturally in seventh heaven—he said—for the joy of being able to experience such a moment again. As I have said so many times, This tournament is special to me because it was the first I saw as a kid and that inspired me to start playing tennis. I don’t take anything for granted, especially not at Wimbledon. Having my family in the stands and being able to share the victory with them was amazing.”
Basically I made some mistakes: It was part of the strategy to deal with an unpredictable player like NickOne of the best, if not the best, servants in the department. His transmission is really hard to read, and that constantly puts pressure on his opponents. The answer during my career has given me a lot of satisfaction, but today in some situations it was frustrating to suffer so many blows. But In the main shots I felt comfortable and in the important moments I served well. I might have done the second ball better, but it was still a Grand Slam final against an opponent who had nothing to lose, and I lost to them twice out of two. In general, I think I handled the situation well.”
“This year was definitely very different than last year. It started the way it started and what happened took a toll on me in the first months of the year. I wasn’t feeling well mentally. I wanted to play, but when I went to Dubai for the first tournament of the year, I didn’t feel like I was on the field. There I realized that it would take a while to get back to feeling my best. Historically, Wimbledon always comes at important stages in my career. I don’t mean championship, but my victories are here. In 2018, it was a cornerstone after a difficult period due to elbow surgeryWhile winning here this year is a relief, after all I had to beat it this year. It adds value to the victory and makes it more exciting. I don’t think about the future, but I don’t see myself giving up my career in a year or two. Aim to stay healthy, motivated and mentally strong, to compete with the youth“.
“Everything that has happened since Australia has been a challenge, an obstacle that is not easy to overcome from a mental point of view. I tried to immediately leave the issue behind and was ready to move on, but it was hard to close this chapter because I was constantly reminded. It has caused me psychological problems and many distractions, for me and more for all the people around me who take care of me. But over time I realized it wasn’t something I could forget overnight, or pretend it didn’t happen. but, As I got closer to this tournament I felt really good, I knew I’d won three times in a row here, and every year I feel my tennis is getting better on the grass.. Between Rome and Paris, despite the defeat to Nadal, I was already able to play the tennis that I love, so I was completely confident and aware of my potential.”
“Now I’m taking a few weeks off, as the last few months have been very busy. Here I got what I wanted, and now I’m looking forward to some good news from the States, and I’d love to be able to play there. I have not been vaccinated and have no intention of vaccinating myself so my only chance of playing depends on their potential option of canceling the vaccination requirement to enter the country. If that happens, he’ll run a tournament or two before the US Open, and then in New York. Otherwise, I don’t think I’ll play other tournaments looking for points. Today I found out about it from my agent By winning a Grand Slam, I automatically qualify for the ATP Finals, as long as I’m in the top 20 in the world at the end of the year. I didn’t know, and I think with the points collected so far I should finish in the top 20, so I should be fine in the finals. So I have no pressure. I will be evaluating programming with Goran (Ivanisevic, editor), also based on the US letter. If I don’t play there I can go back to the Laver Cup or the Davis Cup.”
Nick Kyrgios
“Obviously I’m very sorry, because I think victory today wasn’t out of the question. I played a great first set and put myself in a position to take the match on my side, but Djokovic was very calm. It’s a strange feeling: I don’t think he’s done anything incredible today, except always responding to the greats, but he has always remained calm, in any situation. Never worried, and I think it’s her greatest strength. I noticed this during the match: I was playing great, but he did not turn a blind eye. For his part, it was a great performance. I wasn’t able to play the crucial points well.”
“I think that If I won today, I would have struggled a lot to find the motivation to keep playing. Throughout my career, I have been told that winning Wimbledon is the most important achievement to be had. So I think after this title it was difficult for me to go back to playing other tournaments, like the ATP 250. I would have really struggled. But This final tells me that my level is there, I’m not far from the best. I played a Grand Slam final against one of the best players ever and the difference was tiny. I also managed the game well: I went off the field and won an impressive first set. I felt like I was the one who experienced so many endings that were played. I managed to squeeze really well.”
“That’s right, with Djokovic I won twice out of two sets, but in the best of three. In a match of three, losing the first set means you don’t have much room to breathe, while three out of five are different. With players like Djokovic, Nadal and Federer, even if you win the first set, you still have Everest to climb.. Too bad for the fourth set: If I played the tiebreak better, and dragged the match into the fifth set, we both could have won. Also because even though I’m kind of weird, physically I just feel better and better. Djokovic is a great player, but no one on the field makes you feel as bad as Federer. He knows how to make you want to get off the court, he makes everything look easy. Nadal and Djokovic, on the other hand, allow you to play more. I can’t tell who is the hardest to deal with. Today, beside him, it was difficult to manage the context, and I think not playing in the semi-finals did not help me. I was thinking about this match all the time, because I never had the experience of such an important match. But I’m happy with the way things went, and I think I showed that I belong at that level.”
“To win a tournament like this, you need an incredible mental and physical preparation. Only eight players have done this since I was born. It’s hard for those who don’t play to understand. Also in terms of social media: There are so many aspects to live with, it’s very difficult. For the past three or four days, I’ve been trying to get away from everything as much as possible. Today it is very easy to get distracted and read negative comments. I tried to focus as much as possible on the tournament only: Eat well and sleep well. I haven’t had a beer in two weeks“.
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