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by IANS |
London, July 12 (IANS) Serbia's world No. 1 Novak Djokovic said the past 10 years of his tennis career had been an "incredible journey" and that he would not stop at 20 Grand Slams but aim for as many majors as possible.
Djokovic defeated Italy's Matteo Berrettini in the final on Sunday to clinch his sixth Wimbledon title and 20th Grand Slam crown overall. By winning the title, the Serb joined Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, the other two members of the Big Three, as the players with the most number of Grand Slam singles titles in the Open Era.
"When I first broke into the Top 10, for three or four years, I lost most of the big matches against these guys (Federer and Nadal) and something shifted at the end of 2010 and the beginning of 2011. The past 10 years have been an incredible journey and it's not stopping here," said Nadal during the post-match press conference.
Djokovic said Wimbledon had a special place in his heart and winning it was always his dream as a child.
"Winning Wimbledon was always the biggest dream of mine as a child. I know how special this is and I don't want to take this for granted. I was a seven year old boy in Serbia, constructing a Wimbledon tennis trophy with improvised materials in my bedroom and now I am standing here with six titles. It's incredible."
The Serb was all praise for Federer and Nadal for helping him raise his game over the years.
"I have to pay a great tribute to Rafa and Roger as legends of our sport, the two most important players in my career and why I am the player I am today. They made me realise what I needed to improve, mentally, physically and tactically."
Djokovic, who has already clinched his ninth Australian Open crown in February and a second French title last month, will now stake his claim for the calendar-year Grand Slam after earning his sixth trophy at the All England Club.
Only four men in the sport's history have arrived at the US Open with the season's first three major championships in their bags, and in a couple of months' time the 34-year-old Djokovic will hope to emulate Don Budge (1938) and Rod Laver (1962 and 1969) in winning all four Grand Slam tournaments in a single season.
"I could definitely envisage it happening and I will definitely give it a shot," said Djokovic. "I am in great form and I am playing well at the Grand Slams. So let's keep it going."
