Written by Richard Pagliaro | @TennisNow | Sunday, July 14, 2024
Photo credit: Rob Newell/CameraSport
Wimbledon–Novak Djokovic he is not used to living as an average person.
He met the winner of Wimbledon Carlos Alcaraz and world No. 1 Jannik Sinner In terms of rankings, Djokovic admits that he is not at the top level of some of the current major title holders.
More: Alcaraz dismisses Djokovic to secure Wimbledon
After his 6-2, 6-2, 7-6(4) loss to defending champion Alcaraz in today's Wimbledon final, Djokovic said he is not as good as the top young players.
The Grand Slam king said his ambition is deep—and he hopes to raise his level at the Paris Olympics this month and the US Open next month.
“The Olympics and the US Open are two big goals for me at the end of the year. I hope that I will be at a high level in those two tournaments,” said Djokovic. “That's all I can say right now. I mean, being able to reach the Wimbledon final, of course, is a huge confidence booster.
“But I also feel like I'm in a match today against the best player in the world right now, I mean, apart from Jannik, and they're both the best this year so far, I feel like I'm not at that level.”
The stats back up that sentiment: Djokovic hasn't lost to a top-10 opponent since a 6-3, 6-3 sweep of Sinner in the ATP Finals title match in Turin last November.
The 37-year-old Serbian has spent part of his career recovering from knee surgery in the latest setback.
Coming off arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn medial meniscus in his right knee on Wednesday, June 5 in Paris, the second-seeded Serbian showed great determination to fight for a tenth Wimbledon final.
Djokovic, who has won Wimbledon seven times, said he has an easy goal until the end of the season. Rely on being strong, strengthen his current surgery and accept the fact that he has to be better to defeat Alcaraz and Sinner.
“To have a chance, I think, to beat these guys in the finals of a Grand Slam or the Olympics, I'm going to have to play a lot better than I did today and feel a lot better than I did today,” Djokovic said. . “I will fix it. It's not something I've ever seen before in my life. I have had many different experiences throughout my career. When faced with difficulties, I usually get up and learn and become stronger. That's what I'm going to do.”
Although second-ranked Djokovic said he feels stronger as the tournament progresses, he admits he is “behind” Alcaraz in all aspects of the game.
“Yes, that probably had an impact, especially in the opening rounds. But as the competition went on, I felt better and better. I reached the final,” said Djokovic. Some matches I played very good tennis. Some matches I have faced.
“But yes, today I realized that, as I said, I'm behind him in every way. That's the truth I have to accept right now. I hope things can be different next time I play him.”
The question is: Can the middle man close the gap to rivals 15 years younger?
To that end, you can make the smartest case for Djokovic to skip Paris and prepare to defend his US Open title. After all, the last time he played on the red clay of Roland Garros, he had knee surgery a few days later.
Currently, Djokovic, who has said that winning the gold medal at the Olympics in Serbia is helping him a lot, plans to play with Paris.
“I still have goals to play in the Olympic Games, I hope I have a chance to fight for a medal for my country,” said Djokovic. “In a completely different way, obviously I'm going back to where I was injured a few weeks ago. Let's see. Let's see how I will feel physically and mentally. I hope I can find the right tennis because I will need everything I have and more to go to the finals of the Olympic Games.”
As for his SW19 future, Djokovic insists he will be back next year.
Leading a tennis life without limits, Djokovic aims to push the boundaries of age.
“As for coming back here, I mean, I would love to,” said Djokovic. “The only thing I can think about right now is that this is my last Wimbledon. I really want to play anything. I don't know. I have no limitations in my mind. I still want to continue playing as long as I feel like I can play at this high level.”
!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s){if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?
n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;
n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version=’2.0′;n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;
t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window,
document,’script’,’
fbq(‘init’, ‘1846407775622432’); // Insert your pixel ID here.
fbq(‘track’, ‘PageView’);
Source link
