WHEN better to consummate your ongoing love affair with the Wimbledon singles championship than on your first wedding anniversary?
Exactly one year ago Novak Djokovic was tying the knot with his long time girlfriend Jelena Ristic in a private ceremony on the picturesque islet of Sveti Stefan on the Adriatic coast. A bit like Andy Murray, there was an admission from the 28-year-old Serb that married life doesn't seem to be doing him too much harm. Since then, the Serb - who also has a small child called Stefan - has contested three of the four Grand Slam finals, and won two of them.
"One year ago I won the trophy, and on this day, we got married in the church, started a new life together," said the 28-year-old. "It really is an amazing chapter of my life that I'm trying to enjoy as much as I can. Of course, becoming parents in October was another great dimension of love and energy for us.
"Obviously when you're going for annual holidays with the Wimbledon trophy, it's slightly different than when you're not," he added. "But whether I'm winning or losing, she [Jelena] is always there. Family's always there. When I go back home, I'm not a tennis player anymore. I'm a father and a husband and that's a balance that I think allows me to play this well. Ever since I got married and became a father, I haven't lost many matches, I won many tournaments. I suggest that to every player 'get married, have kids, let's enjoy this'."
While there were warm hugs with Jelena and a coaching entourage which includes Boris Becker, Marian Vajda, and physios Miljan Amanovic and Gebhard Phil-Gritsch, there wasn't so much affection heading his way from the Centre Court crowd. Djokovic said last night that he had no problem with the support received by his opponent Roger Federer, but admitted he hopes that one day they will learn to love him too.
"It doesn't [bother me]," said Djokovic, whose ninth Grand Slam moves him ahead such legends of the sport as Andre Agassi, Jimmy Connors and Ivan Lendl. "I expected that coming into the match. I think it's normal because Roger is a champion on and off the court. He's a very likable guy. He's somebody that has played on this level for so many years, many more years than me. Not judging just by the results, but his character, personality. He's done all the right things to get that support. More or less anywhere I play against Roger, it's the same. So it's just like that. I have to accept it. I have to work and earn majority of the support but maybe one day."
While Federer was unable to maintain the levels - particularly on serve - which he achieved during his semi-final with Andy Murray on Friday, Djokovic accepted that he was well aware that he would need to work hard for everything he achieved yesterday.
"Of course, he [Federer] played amazing tennis throughout the entire tournament," said the Serb. "He deserved to be there. I knew that he wasn't going to drop his level too much. He was going to make me earn every point. He continuously puts a lot of pressure on you. Especially on the grass, he plays one or two games very quickly, chips and charges, just takes away the time, which Andy [Murray] and I need. We are baseline players and we need a little bit more time. We are not as talented as Roger. He wins his service games in 30 seconds."
Djokovic thanked his coach Boris Becker, whose record of three Wimbledon titles he equalled, for sticking with him through the hard times. Even in the course of this match, he vented some fury by whacking his racket off his shoes when he failed to capitalise on seven set points before losing the second set to Federer.
"Obviously I'm an emotional guy," he said. "I go through tough moments in the match like he [Federer] does, like anybody does really. I express myself sometimes negatively unfortunately, but I also like to show fist pumps, encourage myself to get moving. But you can't do too much because in these particular matches you need to be calm, because only the quiet mind, serene mind wins the match.
"In the end when I finished the last point, I took out everything that was in me," he added. "I still don't realise how big an achievement it is. Even though it's my third title here, it feels like first."
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