LONDON (Reuters) – Defending champion Novak Djokovic says he shall be further motivated to assert a fourth successive Wimbledon title because it could possibly be his final Grand Slam motion of the 12 months.
The 35-year-old Serb missed the Australian Open after being deported for not having been vaccinated in opposition to COVID-19 and won’t be allowed to compete on the U.S. Open for a similar purpose.
Those selections have severely impacted Djokovic’s hopes of successful probably the most Grand Slam titles, with Rafa Nadal now holding the file on 22, in comparison with Djokovic’s 20.
With Australia imposing strict entry standards, it’s doubtless that Wimbledon could possibly be Djokovic’s final Grand Slam occasion till subsequent 12 months’s French Open.
“As of at present I’m not allowed to enter the States beneath these circumstances. I’m conscious of that. That is an additional motivation to do properly right here,” he instructed reporters on Saturday.
“Hopefully I can have an excellent event, as I’ve completed within the final three editions. Then I’ll simply have to attend and see. I’d like to go to States.
“But as of at present, that is not doable.”
Should Djokovic retain the title he can be solely the fourth man within the fashionable period to win 4 successive Wimbledon crowns.
It would additionally put him stage with Pete Sampras on seven Wimbledon titles, one behind file holder Roger Federer.
“I’d like to be able to combat for an additional trophy,” prime seed Djokovic stated.
“Pete Sampras, successful his first Wimbledon, was the primary tennis match I ever noticed on the TV. So, in fact, there’s quite a lot of connection to this event.
“Pete has gained it seven instances. Hopefully, yeah, I can do the identical this 12 months.”
Even if Djokovic wins he’ll lose the two,000 rating factors he’s defending from final 12 months, following the ATP and WTA choice to strip the tournaments of factors within the wake of the ban on gamers from Russia and Belarus.
Djokovic was additionally prevented from defending 2,000 factors in Melbourne, however says he’s not overly involved.
“My priorities are totally different now,” he stated.
While respecting Wimbledon’s stance, Djokovic stated he feels it’s unfair that Russian gamers, together with world primary Daniil Medvedev, usually are not competing on the grasscourt main.
“I perceive either side. It’s actually arduous to say what is correct, what’s mistaken. But in my coronary heart as an athlete, placing myself able the place somebody would ban me from taking part in due to these circumstances, and I’ve not contributed to that, I would not assume that is truthful,” he stated.
“Let me remind you that again within the 90s, from 92 to 96, any athlete from Serbia was not allowed to compete on the worldwide stage in any sport. At that point I used to be too younger, however I do know athletes that had been competing at the moment.
“I understand how it affected their lives. Many of them have left their sport as a result of 4 years is a really very long time.”
(Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Toby Davis)
