How the pressure of playing a rival gave Novak Djokovic a Wimbledon victory
Players want to go out to a match and have fun besides from winning. But that may be said more about regular tournaments. Majors may be more fun for the crowd than its players. Performing well and winning are the top protocols and both Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer had the pressure on them. "It was a huge relief at the end...that was one thing I promised myself coming onto the court today; that I need to stay calm and composed..." Djokovic had emphasized at the Wimbledon final press conference.
The match was suspenseful, exciting and nerve-racking all at the same time. It was evident that the crowd loved the nearly five hour match, but for Djokovic it was many battles he had to fight. "If you have the majority of the crowd on your side of course it helps. It gives you motivation, it gives you strength...when you don't I had to find it from within I guess," the Serbian said on him being overpowered with hearing support from Federer fans. In a long match players need the physical fitness but also the mental stability. The mental part might have been the ingredient that Djokovic had to seal the deal. The Serbian also had the pressure of being the defending champ. The last thing he wanted to do was to blow his chances of ending his Wimbledon run at this tournament and with this opponent. He can talk about it now that it's over saying that "It's a constant battle from inside." Some matches take more physical challenges upon the body while others are mental. This Wimbledon final took everything out of the players and Djokovic knows that he could have missed many opportunities and not win. "I was one shot away from losing the match...this match had everything and it could have gone his way," he said. The 'his way' meaning to be a Roger Federer win. Djokovic partly analyzed with the media what could have been another factor for him to come out a winner. "I needed to ber sharp when the opportunity was there...I just tried to fight when it mattered the most which is what happened, he said shaking his head almost in disbelief about the strength he needed and had to close out the match. Feeling self-assured is another factor that might have helped Djokovic out of those dark moments of being behind and trying to catch up and win. He admitted that "In this kind of moments, I just try to never lose self belief."
After the win Novak Djokovic surely can look at the glass as half full, but Federer might have a different mindset of it being half empty and adjusting. "You try to see the positives. You try to take it as a good thing..." he had dryly said at his press conference. Sometimes a win might come from the other player not playing their best. This wasn't the case. Federer explained that "...you have to play aggressive...I thought I had a good mix, but Novak was also playing well." Being prepared physically and mentally is what it takes to win, along with strategy and so many other little issues. Federer looks back and thinks that he did play the clay season previous to Wimbledon and said that "It helped me to play the clay to stay match fit, match tough. In practice you can only do so much..." Executing your shots is it for any player and when that fails you may have to deal with the lost. "You take it on your chin and try to move on...you try to take the good things out of the match," Federer solemnly says. But for Djokovic he feels like he's paid his dues to tennis and tournaments saying with relief that "I don't have any commitment to play tennis. I play it because I really love it."
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2YZaenB
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