Novak Djokovic says he has ‘great motivation’ to equal Roger Federer on eight Wimbledon singles trophies when he faces Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday.
Djokovic locks horns with Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final for the second year in a row after the young Spaniard’s five-set victory over the Serbian veteran in 2023.
It could be a historic day for seven-time Wimbledon winner Djokovic if he defeats Alcaraz, as he would match Federer’s record tally of eight singles titles in SW19.
Victory for Djokovic would also clinch a 25th Grand Slam trophy to move him ahead of Margaret Court’s 24 and cement his status as the best player of all time.
Speaking ahead of the final, Djokovic was asked in a press conference what it would mean to match Federer’s record of eight Wimbledon titles.
‘Obviously I’m aware Roger holds eight Wimbledon [titles],’ Djokovic said. ‘I hold seven. History is on the line. Also potentially my 25th Grand Slam.
‘Of course it serves as great motivation but at the same time it’s also a lot of pressure and expectations. Every time I step on court, even though I’m 37 and competing with the 21-year-olds, I still expect myself to win most of the matches and people expect me to win 99 per cent of the matches I play.
‘I always have to come out on court and perform my best in order to still be at the level with Carlos Alcaraz or Jannik Sinner or Sascha Zverev or any of those guys… Daniil Medvedev.
‘This year hasn’t been that successful for me. It’s probably the weakest results for the first six months I’ve had in many years. And that’s OK. I’ve had to adapt and accept that and also try to find a way out from the injury I had and regroup.
‘And Wimbledon, historically, there have been seasons where I wasn’t maybe playing at my desired level and then I’d win a Wimbledon title and things would change.
‘For example that was the case in 2018, where I had an elbow surgery earlier in the year. My ranking dropped out of the top 20.
‘Losing in fourth round of the Australian Open and quarters of Roland-Garros and just not playing the tennis I wanna play… and then I won Wimbledon.
‘Then I won the US Open. Then later on I became No.1 very soon. So Wimbledon just extracts the best of me. It motivates me to always show up and perform the best I can.
‘I’m aware of what’s on the line. It always is. Any Grand Slam I play now there’s always history on the line. I will try to use that as fuel to play my best tennis.’
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