By Randy Walker
@TennisPublisher
Clutching the Wimbledon men’s trophy after his 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (3) win over Nick Kyrgios in the 2022 Wimbledon final, Novak Djokovic reflected on his career and Wimbledon and where he was first inspired to play tennis with his first sight of the lawns of the All England Club.
“I’m at a loss for words for what this tournament, what this trophy means to me, to my team, to my family,” said Djokovic in the on-court trophy ceremony. “I’ve said this many times it’s always has been and will be the most special tournament in my heart, the one that motivated me and inspired me to start playing tennis in a small little mountain resort in Serbia, where my parents used to run a restaurant. I was four and a half, five years old and I saw Pete Sampras when he won his first Wimbledon and I asked my dad and mom to buy me a racquet. And my first image of tennis was grass and Wimbledon. And I always dreamed of coming here, just playing in this court. And then of course realizing the childhood dream and winning this trophy. Every single time it gets more and more meaningful and special.”
It seems appropriate that Djokovic would harken back to this memory on this day as the victory gave him a seventh men’s singles title at Wimbledon, which draws him equal with his idol and inspiration Sampras, who also won seven titles at the All England Club from 1993 to 2000.
In the definitive book on Sampras and his major victories by Steve Flink called “Pete Sampras: Greatness Revisited” (for sale and download here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1937559947/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_P794QPEMTB6ASSJHQGBP) Djokovic reflected on this inspiring first vision of Wimbledon and Sampras.
“I was six and watching Pete play this Wimbledon final. The first video image of professional tennis I had was Pete winning this final over Courier in 93’. I was so amazed with his skills and his composure and the whole setting of watching him play on the most sacred court of the sport. I just fell in love with everything. When you are that young, you believe in everything. You live through your dreams and your dreams are your reality. You have that moment of, let’s say, a revelation when you just know that one day it is going to be you holding that trophy.”
Elaborating on that theme, Djokovic said to Flink, “I really felt that day watching Pete that it was kind of a higher power instilled in me. I just kind of received that information from above. It is just one of those things that you can’t explain. You just feel it and know it deep inside. But for me, Pete was the guy. I was actually doing my impersonations from very early stages of my tennis career and by the time I was seven, a year after the Wimbledon final Pete played against Courier, I started impersonating the top players and taking the best shots from each one of the top guys. But with Pete, even though our tennis styles were quite different, I still looked at him as my idol. And what impressed me the most about watching him that day in the Wimbledon 93’ final — and later on — was his ability to stay present and stay calm at the most decisive moments, to be mentally tough when it matters the most. That is what separates him as one of the greatest tennis players ever to hold a racquet.”
After his 2022 victory, Djokovic is in sight of being called the all-time greatest player at Wimbledon. His seven titles is only one shy of Roger Federer’s men’s pro record of seven career titles, and two shy of Martina Navratilova’s record nine singles titles. He has won now four straight titles, one shy of the men’s record Federer shares with Bjorn Borg. Remarkably, Djokovic has also won 39 straight matches on Centre Court and hasn’t lost on the most famous court in tennis since he lost the 2013 Wimbledon final to Andy Murray.
Incidentally, in “Pete Sampras: Greatness Revisited” Sampras revealed that this first Wimbledon victory in 1993 was one of the most important in his career, as discussed in this excerpt here: https://www.worldtennismagazine.com/archives/20956
