NOVAK Djokovic savoured the sweet taste of success last night as he celebrated his third Wimbledon singles title with his customary bite of the Centre Court turf.
The Serbian World No 1's ninth Grand Slam title in all came courtesy of a 7-6 (1), 6-7 (10), 6-4, 6-3 victory against Roger Federer, which saw him become the first man to retain this title since the man on the other side of the net back in 2007.
While this victory - secured on the first anniversary of his wedding to his wife Jelena - removed the bitter taste left by Roland Garros defeat to Stan Wawrinka and eats into the lead which his contemporaries Federer and Nadal have on him in the all-time list, the Serb insisted that he still has the appetite for more.
"I was assured that's it's gluten free, it's not processed, completely organic and natural and I could eat it," said the 28-year-old, who adheres to a strict gluten-free diet. "So I had no reaction. It was obviously nice to repeat this tradition and do the thing I do after I win the title here in Wimbledon. When I was a child, dreaming of winning Wimbledon, it was something I always wanted to do in my celebration. So I picked that and I hope people are not annoyed by that."
"If you had asked me as a 14 year old back in Serbia trying to find my way that this is how I'm going to end up at 28, of course I would have signed the deal and taken it right away," he added. "There were a couple of Grand Slam finals that I think I could have won.
"But I'm going to keep going," he added. "I'm 28. I feel good. I don't feel old. I have hopefully many more years in front of me. I'm going to try to push my own limits and see how far I can go really with titles and with myself playing on this high level."
Federer refused to be too downhearted, despite continuing a run which means he has still won just one Grand Slam in the last five years of trying. The 33-year-old, who said the rain break which came during the third set maybe "came at a bad time" for him, insisted he is close to adding to a resume which includes a record 17 Grand Slams.
"I lost against the world No. 1 at the moment. That's the kind of guy you probably can lose against. But I'm not going to accept it and say, it's normal. It's not. I've beaten him a few times. I'm one of the few guys that's gotten a chance. I'm right there. My game is good."
Federer, who was a huge favourite with the crowd, said their support made up in some way for the defeat. "To have so much crowd support around the world, but particularly here at Wimbledon, which is the Holy Grail, is beautiful. I must tell you it means as much to me almost like winning because I've been around for a long, long time."
Meanwhile, Scotland's Gordon Reid lost at the final hurdle for the fourth year running in the wheelchair doubles, going down 5-7, 7-5, 6-2 with his partner Michael Jeremiasz to Gustavo Fernandez and Nicolas Peifer.
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