“History is on the line” : Novak Djokovic on levelling Roger Federer’s record of eight Wimbledon titles
Novak Djokovic is all set to face Carlos Alcaraz in the finals of Wimbledon on Sunday. This will be a rematch of the finals from las year, where the Spaniard prevailed in an epic five set battles. Both players have been in tremendous touch through the two weeks, with Novak Djokovic just dropping one set.
Novak Djokovic could level Roger Federer’s record of eight Wimbledon titles with his victory over Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday. The Serbian currently holds seven Grand Slam titles on this surface, and stated that he is well aware of the significance this match holds. Moreover, Novak Djokovic added that he could also claim his 25th Grand Slam title, as he has an opportunity to steer clear of Rafael Nadal who sits at 22 Major titles.
“Obviously I’m aware that Roger holds eight Wimbledon (titles). I hold seven. History is on the line. Also, the 25th potential Grand Slam,” Djokovic said, as quoted by Eurosport. “Of course, it serves as a great motivation, but at the same time, it’s also a lot of pressure and expectation.”
“Every time I step out on the court now, even though I’m 37 and competing with 21-year-olds, I still expect myself to win most of the matches, and people expect me to win, whatever, 99% of the matches that I play,” he added.
“Wimbledon just extracts the best of me” : Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic admitted that he has had one of the worst starts to his season. The Serbian has failed to win a single tournament so far, and has also lost his world number on ranking to Jannik Sinner. However, he remains optimistic, and stated that Wimbledon often brings out the best in him.
He gave an example of his poor start to the season in 2018, where he lost in the early rounds at the Australian Open and the French Open. However, he came back to win Wimbledon, and also went to win US Open that year, and reclaimed his world number one ranking in 2019.
“At Wimbledon, historically, there have been seasons where I wasn’t maybe playing at a desired level, but then I would win a Wimbledon title and then things would change,” said Djokovic.
“For example, that was the case in 2018 when I had elbow surgery earlier in the year, dropped my rankings out of the top 20, losing in the fourth round of the Australian Open, I think it was the quarters of Roland-Garros, and just not playing the tennis that I want to play.“
“Then I won Wimbledon and then the US Open and then later on became No. 1 very soon. Wimbledon just extracts the best of me and motivates me to really always show up and perform the best I can,” added the Serb.
Novak Djokovic ended Lorenzo Musetti’s campaign at Wimbledon in the semifinals, defeating him in straight sets. The Serbian is also well-rested given that he received a walkover in the quarterfinals, and made light work of Holger Rune in the last 16.
