Novak Djokovic admits his hunger for titles increased during long break after winning Wimbledon: "Super pumped and motivated"
Novak Djokovic admitted that the long break after Wimbledon, albeit not ideal, worked as a blessing in disguise for him and increased his 'hunger for victory.' The Serbian superstar won his 90th tour-level title and a second ATP title in as many weeks with a win against Stefanos Tsitsipas in Sunday's Astana Open final.
Djokovic missed the entirety of the North American hardcourt swing after winning his 21st Grand Slam at Wimbledon and returned to the tour at the Laver Cup after a break of more than three months.
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He quickly found his feet at the Laver Cup and wasted no time in getting back to winning ways at the Tel Aviv Open last week and now in Astana. When asked if his hunger for titles went up after missing a big phase of the season, the Serb replied in the affirmative.
"Well, it did. I couldn't ask for a better restart to the season. More than 3 months since the Wimbledon final," Novak Djokovic said in his on-court interview after the Astana Open final.
He then highlighted that he has only lost to Rafael Nadal in a proper ATP tournament since the start of the Italian Open in May. Djokovic has won four of the five tournaments he has played in since the Madrid Masters, with the only loss coming to Nadal at the French Open, as he mentioned.
He expressed that he now feels highly motivated to round out the season after winning titles in consecutive weeks.
"Since Madrid, losing only to Rafa on the tour at Roland Garros, everything else was a win. I'm super pumped and motivated to end the season as well as I have these past couple of weeks," the 35-year-old stated.
"I dared to dream" - Novak Djokovic after winning his 90th tour-level title
Courtesy of Sunday's win, Novak Djokovic became just the fifth player in the Open Era to win at least 90 ATP titles. He joined Jimmy Connors, Roger Federer, Ivan Lendl, and Rafael Nadal on the list. When asked whether he "dared to dream" of winning as many as 90 career titles when he started his career, the Serbian great exuded confidence and said that he always aimed to reach the pinnacles of tennis.
"I dared to dream actually," Djokovic said on the same. "I always hoped that I'm going to have a great career. Obviously, didn't know the amount of finals I'm going to play and tournaments I'm going to win, but my intention was always to reach the highest heights of our sport."
He went on to stress that he is glad to be able to produce such a high level of tennis, admitting that doing so at this stage of his career is much tougher than it was a decade ago. The Serbian player said he is riding on his experience of playing in numerous big matches over the years.
"I'm just very grateful and blessed to be able to play this well at this stage of my life. 35 is not the same as 25. I think the experience in these kinds of big matches and big occasions helps to approach mentally in the right way, these kind of matches," he added.
Djokovic will now aim to defend his Paris Masters title later this month. Sunday's win also meant that he has now officially qualified for the ATP Finals next month, where he will bid for his sixth year-end championship trophy.