Novak Djokovic walked to center court and, as he has made traditional for himself, ate a piece of the famed grass on Centre Court at the All-England Club.
Djokovic post-match meal was him celebrating a seventh Wimbledon title as he beat Nick Kyrgios 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(3) on Sunday. The Serb has now won the last four Wimbledon crowns.
Afterwards, Djokovic spoke to the crowd about what this event, and this title, means to him.
“I have lost words for what this tournament, this trophy means to me, my team, my family. I’ve said this many times. It always has been and always will be the most special tournament in my heart, the one that motivated me, inspired me to start playing tennis in a small mountain resort in Serbia where my parents used to run a restaurant,” said Djokovic. “I was four or five years old and I saw Pete Sampras win his first Wimbledon in 1993. I asked my Dad and Mom to buy me a racquet, and my first image of tennis was grass and Wimbledon. I always dreamed of coming here, just playing in this court, and then realizing the childhood dream of winning this trophy. Every single time it gets more meaningful and more special, so I’m very blessed and very thankful to be standing here with the trophy.”
As he had all-tournament long, Kyrgios came out firing in Sunday’s final, and leaned on his dominant serving and an early break in the middle of the set to claim the opener.
But it was then that Djokovic dug in, and took control in the second set. After he won the second frame to even things up, he took advantage of a mental lapse from Kyrgios at 4-4 in the third set. The Australian built a 40-0 advantage on his serve, but would lose the next five points as Djokovic secured the break, and served out the set.
In the fourth, the two remained on serve until the tiebreaker, when Djokovic’s relentless allowed him to pull away from Kyrgios.
Djokovic has now won 28 straight matches at Wimbledon.
“He’s a bit of a god, I’m not gonna lie,” Kyrgios said. “I thought I played well…It’s been an amazing couple of weeks for me personally. Myself, my team, I think we are all exhausted, we’ve played so much tennis. I definitely need a well-earend vacation after this one. I’m just really happy with this result, it’s probably the best of my career. Maybe one day I’ll be here again.”
Djokovic now has 21 major titles on his resume, one shy of Nadal’s record 22 titles.
“I’m obviously over the moon with joy and happiness of experiencing this moment once again. I’ve said it many times, this tournament is extra special for me because it has been the first tournament that I’ve ever watched as a kid,” said Djokovic. “I don’t take any wins for granted, and particularly not in Wimbledon. In contrary, actually every time feels a bit different, special in its own way. Of course, having family and close people in my life here to share this victory with them; it was beautiful.”
