Novak Djokovic after Wimbledon win: "I believe I'm the best, otherwise I wouldn't be talking confidently about making history"
Novak Djokovic etched his name into tennis folklore on Sunday by winning Wimbledon to draw level with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal on 20 Grand Slam titles. Djokovic beat Matteo Berrettini 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 to claim his sixth Wimbledon crown, moving him past Bjorn Borg's tally of five titles at the All England Club.
The Serb still needs one more Slam to truly position himself as the emperor of the sport. However, many already consider him to be the greatest of all time (GOAT) given the way he has dominated arguably the strongest ever tennis era.
Moreover, Djokovic holds the record for the most weeks at World No. 1 and is also the only player in the Open Era to have won each Grand Slam twice. All the arguments certainly point in favor of Djokovic being the GOAT.
When asked to weigh in on the matter during his press conference, Djokovic pointed out he wouldn't be "talking confidently" about claiming one tennis record after another if he didn't consider himself to be the best player in the world.
"I consider myself the best and I believe that I am the best, otherwise I wouldn't be talking confidently about winning Slams and making history," Novak Djokovic said.
However, the Serb refrained from delving into the GOAT debate, citing how that conversation is best left to others. According to Djokovic, it is "very difficult" to compare players across eras given the difference in the equipment and technology available to them.
"Whether I'm the greatest of all time or not, I leave that debate to other people. I said before that it's very difficult to compare the eras of tennis," Djokovic said. "We have different racquets, technology, balls, courts. It's just completely different conditions that we're playing in, so it's very hard to compare tennis, say, from 50 years ago to today. But I am extremely honored to definitely be part of the conversation."
The World No. 1, who was far from his best in the opening set against Berrettini, claimed that nerves got the better of him early on. But Djokovic asserted he was able to loosen up after the opening stanza came to a close.
"I felt more nervous than I usually feel, particularly in the first set," said the Serb. "After the first set was done, I felt relief and I could start swinging through the ball. I then felt more comfortable and in control."
"My plan was always to go to Olympic Games, but right now I'm a little bit divided" - Novak Djokovic
Following his Wimbledon win, Novak Djokovic is now just an Olympic singles gold and US Open title away from becoming the first man to complete the Calendar Golden Slam.
The Tokyo Olympics is scheduled to begin in a couple of weeks. But Djokovic revealed on Sunday that he is yet to make a decision about his participation, given that the Games are now expected to be played without any spectators.
Japan recently entered another state of emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"I'll have to think about it," Novak Djokovic said. "Right now, as I said, my plan was always to go to Olympic Games. But right now I'm a little bit divided. It's kind of 50/50 because of what I heard in the last couple days."
"That’s not great news," he added. "I received that news yesterday or two days ago. That was really disappointing to hear."
Novak Djokovic believes there could be more restrictions within the Olympic Village, which could see players being barred from viewing fellow athletes in action. The six-time Wimbledon champion further pointed out that he would not be permitted to take his stringer with him to Tokyo, which would add to his problems.
"I also hear that there’s going to be a lot of restrictions within the Village," Djokovic continued. "Possibly you would not be able to see other athletes perform live. I can’t even have my stringer that is very important part of my team. I can't have a stringer. I'm limited with the amount of people I can take in my team as well."