Novak Djokovic jokingly recalls 2019 Wimbledon final against Roger Federer admitting he won some titles that he didn’t deserve

Despite the emotional speech, Djokovic managed to lighten up the mood by recalling his previous encounters on Centre Court.

Novak Djokovic jokingly recalls 2019 Wimbledon final against Roger Federer admitting he won some titles that he didn’t deserve

L-Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, Novak and Carlos Alcaraz (Credits: Wimbledon/Getty)

The tennis community and viewers worldwide witnessed a rare glimpse into Novak Djokovic’s emotional self as he gave his runner-up speech after a heartbreaking loss to World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz at Wimbledon. The victory for Alcaraz denied Djokovic his record – equaling 8th title and gave Alcaraz his first.

The Serb expressed his disbelief at the Spaniard’s level of performance and admitted that he was the better player in the final. Already tearing up, Djokovic thanked his team for their efforts. On remarking that his sons will always support him, he broke into tears, thanking the crowd for their support, and thus ended his speech.

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In spite of the emotional premise, Djokovic managed to joke about his previous encounters at Wimbledon, a lot of which have gone his way. He took his legendary final against Roger Federer in 2019 for example and said –

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“As for me, you never like to lose matches like these but I guess when all the emotions are settled, I’ll have to be very grateful. I won many tight and close matches in the past here, to name a few. 2019 against Roger. Maybe I should have lost a few finals that I won so maybe this is even stevens.”

Djokovic said that a lot of big matches have gone his way in the past and that losing one such match will not affect him a lot.

Also read: Carlos Alcaraz takes cheeky dig at Roger Federer over entry in Wimbledon following historic victory over Novak Djokovic

Djokovic loses yet another bid at a Calendar Grand Slam

Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic (Credits: Reuters)

Djokovic’s loss to Alcaraz ends his quest for a Calendar Grand Slam. On being asked about his victories at the Australian Open and the French Open, Novak remarked that while he is proud of those victories, he will be preoccupied with his Wimbledon loss at least for the day.

“I will be (better) tomorrow morning probably but today not so much. Tough one to swallow when you are so close. These are the moment that we work for every day to play on the biggest stages and biggest courts and most important tournaments in the world,” he said.

His loss in the final notwithstanding, Novak has plenty to be proud of, having managed to secure a stronghold at this tournament at such a late stage in his career. The tennis world will be excited to witness how strongly the Serb comes back from this loss, and what lies in store for the newly minted Wimbledon champion in Carlos Alcaraz.

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