Novak Djokovic says he play with more self belief on grass courts – Tennis News
Current world number one, Novak Djokovic, has shared that he likes to play on the grass courts and he has more self belief, when he plays on the rarest surface in tennis.
It was Djokovic’s childhood dream to win the Wimbledon Championships one day and he realised it last year, when he defeated the then world number one, Rafael Nadal of Spain, in four sets in the title match at the All England Club.
That was the Serbian juggernaut’s third Grand Slam trophy. By winning the Wimbledon title, Djokovic fulfilled another childhood dream, as he overtook Nadal in the rankings to become the best player in the world and he has maintained his top position since
then.
In a recent interview, Djokovic said, “I realised my dreams last year. I played a perfect tournament. I like the conditions here. I'm playing with more self belief on this surface, which is the rarest surface we have now in [our]
sport. We don't get much opportunity to play on grass, only a couple weeks a year. But this actually is the surface that our sport has been started to play on first over the years.”
The 2011 Wimbledon Championships is the only title Djokovic has grabbed on the grass courts so far. He reached a couple of finals before that but failed to win on both occasions.
Djokovic’s previous best showing at the All England Club was in 2007 and 2010, when he reached the last four. On the first occasion, the Serbian was trailing 6-3, 1-6, 1-4 against Nadal, when he was forced to quit the match with
injury. The Belgrade, Serbia resident was thrashed by Czech Republic’s Tomas Berdych in straight sets 3-6, 6-7(9), 3-6 in his second try.
Since winning the Wimbledon Championships last year, Djokovic has increased his Grand Slam winning tally to five, overpowering Nadal in the US Open and Australian Open finals. He was looking to become the first player to hold all
four Majors at the same time since Rod Laver in 1969 but fell to Nadal in the Roland Garros final.
Djokovic will start his title defence against former world number one, Juan Carlos Ferrero, at the Wimbledon Championships.
Talking about his opponent in the first round, the Serbian said, “He definitely has a lot of experience playing on the big stage, so I'm not underestimating him, that's for sure. It's going to be a good first round match.”
Djokovic and Ferrero have played each other twice before, with each winning on one occasion.
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