Djokovic: "I'm aware that Federer holds 8 Wimbledon titles and I hold 7."
Novak Djokovic continues to make tennis history. At every Grand Slam tournament he contests, the Serbian has the opportunity to set new records. On Sunday, in the Wimbledon final, he will have the chance to equal Roger Federer's record of 8 men's singles titles on the London grass. Should he win, he would also claim a 25th Grand Slam title and overtake Margaret Court to become the most successful man and woman in history.
Novak Djokovic: "Obviously, I'm aware that Roger holds eight Wimbledons. I hold seven.
You know, history is at stake. It's also the 25th potential Grand Slam. Of course, it's a great motivation, but at the same time, it's also a lot of pressure and expectations.
Every time I step onto the court, even though I'm 37 and competing against a 21-year-old, I expect to win most of the matches, and people expect me to win 99% of the matches I play. So I always have to get on the court and give my best to keep up with Carlos (Alcaraz), Jannik (Sinner), Sascha (Zverev), Daniil (Medvedev) or any of them. And this year hasn't been very fruitful for me.
You know, it's probably the weakest first 6 months I've had in many years. And that's okay. I've just had to accept it and try to find a way to get over the injury I've suffered and pull myself together.
And Wimbledon, historically, there have been seasons where maybe I wasn't playing at the level I wanted to, but then I'd win a title at Wimbledon, and things would change. For example, in 2018, I had elbow surgery earlier in the year, dropped out of the ATP top 20 and lost in the fourth round of the Australian Open, in the quarters of the French Open and wasn't playing the tennis I wanted to play.
Then I won Wimbledon. Then I won the US Open, and later on, I became world number 1 again very quickly. So yes, Wimbledon brings out the best in me and motivates me to always show up and give my best.
Of course, I'm aware of what's at stake (the records). That's always the case, really. I mean, in every Grand Slam I play, there's always history at stake. I'll try to use it as fuel to play my best tennis."
Wimbledon