Djokovic remembers his craziest match against Federer in the Wimbledon final

Mónica Barberán Munera | 10 Dec 2024 | 20.00

Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer at Wimbledon 2019. Photo: getty

Streaming Australian Open Women live tennis

* You can watch and bet on this match live here..

Novak Djokovic has played and won many matches in which sometimes he has not been able to bring his best tennis, the tennis of a true champion. However, playing better does not guarantee you victory if your opponent excels in the most important moments. That's what happened in the 2019 Wimbledon final when the Serbian was facing Roger Federer. Nole recalled in an interview with Head how he managed to turn that match around in which the Swiss was outperforming him in every aspect of the game. A match that he ended up winning to claim the title. He also addressed two other important moments of his career, when he became the man with the most Grand Slams in history.

- About his incredible streak of 43 matches won in 2011

"That was not my goal. I felt very good with my tennis because I finished the 2010 season in the best possible way, winning the first Davis Cup title with Serbia and that gave me a great boost of confidence for 2011. I started with the victory at the Australian Open and then I was on a roll. Once you have the wind at your back, sometimes you feel like you are completely in the zone and nothing can stop you. And I kept winning, and the more I won, the more confident and comfortable I felt on the court, I didn't care who I was playing against or on what surface. It was a wonderful feeling that is probably experienced only once in your career, winning basically half a year without losing a single match. It was great."

- Winning all 4 Grand Slams consecutively from Wimbledon 2015 to Roland Garros 2016

"Not bad, right? What can I say? I always dreamed of winning Wimbledon and becoming the world number one. When I achieved it, I thought, 'Okay, what's next? What's the next big dream?' The next big dream is to win as many Grand Slams as possible. So I wanted to complete all the Slams and Roland Garros was the only one I had never won before. By that time, I had lost several finals and I was very frustrated for not having won there. But every year I felt like I was getting closer and closer. So it happened in 2016, against one of my childhood idols, Guga Kuerten, who had won Roland Garros three times. I asked him if I could draw a heart on the clay, as a sort of tribute to him, and he gave me his blessing, so I did. At that moment, I had all four Grand Slam titles in a row. It was a unique moment."

- The 2019 Wimbledon final against Federer

"I remember it was very late, the sun was very low, so it was difficult to see for both of us. He broke my serve, and he was serving, I think it was 8-7 in the fifth set. It was the first year they introduced the super tiebreak at 12-all. It was a perfect scenario for the tournament, obviously for me as well, I don't know about him, but to play the super tiebreak in the final, a very long match. A match in which, statistically, he was the better player. If you analyze it, you see that Roger won more points, he had all the stats on his side, but I found a way to win in the crucial moments, to play the right shots at the right time. I was down 40-15 and I just tried to make him play, to make him earn the victory. He came to the net, I hit a passing shot on the second match point, he got a bit tired, I seized my chance, and then the super tiebreak again was very close. It was a very tight match and probably the most nerve-wracking match I've been a part of. Another one I would add to that section maybe was the 2012 victory at the Australian Open against Nadal in the final. Those two matches stand out as the two best matches I've been a part of."

- His 23rd Grand Slam title

"That was the historic number 23. It was an important moment. I had a solid tournament, I would say I played pretty well considering I didn't have a great clay season before Roland Garros. I know that's where I play my best tennis on clay, and that gave me the confidence to do it again. And I did it, especially in the last matches against Alcaraz in the semifinals, when he was in great form. But I had a very clear vision of what I had to do and how I had to approach the match. I think I played very good tennis and also in the final I played a very solid match against Casper Ruud. After that last forehand that went out, I collapsed on the court. I had my kids there, my wife and all my family, it was one of the most beautiful moments I have ever experienced".