At 39 years old, Novak Djokovic is still out here going toe-to-toe with the best — and much younger — players in the world.
At the Australian Open he beat Jannik Sinner in five sets in the semifinals before losing to Carlos Alcaraz. At the French Open he lost a five-set thriller to Joao Fonseca in the third round. At Wimbledon he survived a five-hour and 15-minute quarterfinal marathon against Felix Auger-Aliassime on Tuesday, prevailing 7-6(10), 3-6, 6-3, 6-7(4), 7-6(10-4).
“Yes and no,” the Serb said during his post-match press conference when asked if these kinds of results surprise him. “I guess yes, at this stage that I’m still able to battle these young guys that have 15 years less than me, that I’m able to beat them at the tightest possible scoreline.
“In a sense, it is really a nice surprise. But at the same time, I always have the highest expectations for myself. I can be very self-critical, very hard on myself. (But) I try to also enjoy the moments like this. I don’t know what tomorrow brings…. I’m still in the tournament. I still want to go at least one more step further. But this was as good as a final for me.”
Of course, it wasn’t the final. Djokovic still has to win one more match simply to reach the championship match and two more victories are required if he wants to win a 25th Grand Slam title. Up next for the seventh seed on Friday is another showdown against Sinner.
“I had a very long semis against Sinner (in Australia),” Djokovic reflected. “This [time I played a long match in the] quarters; now I have to play Sinner in semis. There’s (a) difference, and (a) difference in the surface. Obviously that was the first big tournament of the year for me, coming fresher from several months of break and preparation. It’s a bit different now.
“But nevertheless, (it is) another great, historic run for me at [a Grand Slam]. This is what counts the most, honestly. I still try to prove to myself and others that I’m able to compete with the best players in the world and beat them in the biggest stage. That’s what I’ve done in Australia. It’s what I’ve done here. Hopefully I can do it few more matches here in London.”
Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on Twitter at @Dimonator.