Novak Djokovic has said he is out to make his own history as he shrugged off his rivalry with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal following his latest win at Wimbledon.
The world No.1 is through to his 10th semi-final at the All England Club after disposing of Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics in straight sets. Once again Djokovic has rewritten the record books in the sport. This time it was the fact he had recorded his 100th Tour win on the grass. An achievement which has only been made by two other active players (Andy Murray and Roger Federer).
Although Djokovic’s ultimate goal is clinching the Wimbledon trophy on Sunday for the sixth time in his career. Should he do so, he would move level with both Nadal and Federer for most major titles won by a male player. Questioned about chasing history following his latest win, the Serbian was curiously asked by one journalist how it felt to be the ‘bad guy’ going after after his two rivals.
“I don’t consider myself a bad guy,” he replied.
“I’m not chasing anybody. I’m making my own path, my own journey and my own history. I’m privileged to be part of the history of this sport that I love.’
“I know about a lot of stats (concerning his career). I don’t know about all of them. But they do motivate me even more to play my best tennis at the events that count the most in our sport.”
En route to the semi-finals Djokovic has dropped only one set in five matches played which was against Jack Draper in the first round. Ironically, a tougher test for him has been the British weather.
“It was very windy, I think one of the windiest days I ever had here in Wimbledon. I don’t recall it being so windy. Particularly in the last couple days, it hasn’t calmed down, the wind,” he said.
Elaborating further, he explains how the conditions have affected him both before and during matches. Wimbledon’s two premier courts do have roofs but they are only used when it is raining or in extreme circumstances. Organisers state that as an outdoor event they want to minimise the use of the roof.
“It’s the rhythm, it’s the tempo of your groundstrokes, the toss for the serve. Obviously everything is disrupted in a way in terms of how you’ve been probably warming up and feeling on the different court the same day,” he explained. “Once you step out on the Centre Court, it’s obviously a different feeling. But I felt like the last couple matches, it has been pretty windy, particularly today.”
Next up for Djokovic in his quest for major title No.20 is a clash with Canada’s Denis Shapovalov who he describes as his ‘biggest test’ yet. Shapovalov defeated Karen Khachanov in five sets. He leads their head-to-head 6-0 and has only ever lost two sets against him on the Tour.
“It seems like he’s maturing, which is also something that is normal, it’s logical. You would expect that from a player like him that has really an all-around game. Huge serve, lefty, which is always tricky to play against someone who is left-handed on the quick surfaces,” Djokovic said of Shapovalov.
“He’s comfortable coming into the net. I think his movement has improved. Due to better movement, he’s probably making less errors, which was probably the part of his game that was always troubling him.”
Djokovic will play his semi-final match on Friday.
