‘Distractions and Pressure’ – Novak Djokovic Narrates the Painful Path to Wimbledon Glory

Legendary tennis player Novak Djokovic added another Grand Slam title to his name yesterday. Playing against Nick Kyrgios of Australia, in the final of Wimbledon Championships 2022, the Serb gave a near-perfect performance. It was the seventh Wimbledon title for Djokovic and his fourth in a row.

The 35-year-old was in fantastic touch throughout the tournament. However, if we have a look at his 2022 season, it was not going all good for him. The year started on a bad note when he was unable to play in Australia. Later the 35-year-old lost to Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals of the French Open.

Speaking after yesterday’s win, in an interview, Djokovic revealed the impact of this year’s Australian Open fiasco on his game.

Novak Djokovic speaks about the effect of the Australian Open incident

The disturbance at the beginning of the year definitely affected Djokovic’s game this year. However, the champion player bounced back in style and claimed his first Grand Slam title of the year. In an interview with the Tennis Channel, the 35-year-old recalled what he had to go through after the Australian Open incident.

“When I left Australia, I thought, okay it’s behind me, but then that feeling and that narrative and the whole saga has followed me for the months to come. And I really didn’t know how that will affect my game or myself mentally emotionally, but it really did,” he said.

Further, he revealed that the pressure from the media regarding the incident didn’t let him enjoy his first few tournaments.

“So the first three-four tournaments I really didn’t enjoy much on the court, to be honest. I just felt the game was there in the practice sessions, but somehow this feeling of never facing this particular situation before, it was more than tennis. It was more than sport. It was so much distractions and pressure from the media and everything that was happening,” he added.

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However, the Serb soon understood that time will heal everything, and he needs to wait for it.

“I understood that it will take time. That I need patience, that the time will heal and will work in my favor,” he concluded.

Djokovic goes past Roger Federer

The “Big Three”, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic, are in constant battle with each other to end up with the most Grand Slam titles record. Till the end of the 2021 season, they were tied at 20 each. However, the Spaniard left both of his rivals behind after winning the first two Grand Slams of the year.

Yesterday, after successfully defending the Wimbledon title, Djokovic inched closer to Nadal’s record.

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With his fourth consecutive Wimbledon title, Djokovic has increased his tally to 21 Grand Slam titles. Nadal, on the other hand, sits on top with 22 titles, and Federer, who is recovering from a knee surgery, is still on 20.