“When I beat Rafa Nadal at Roland Garros I thought: 'Okay, I've finished the tournament'”

Novak Djokovic is one of the great figures this week at the Mallorca Championships. Despite not competing in the singles, the presence of the Serbian in the doubles tournament alongside Carlos Gómez Herrera has generated a lot of expectation in his last test on grass before Wimbledon.

Speaking to the Mallorca Championships organization, Djokovic also spoke about his latest great success, winning the title at Roland Garros, and also about the epic match in which he faced Rafa Nadal in the semifinals. “Winning against Rafa in the semi-finals practically on his court, in a place where he has dominated his entire career, was incredible. The feeling I had after the game was like 'Okay, I have finished the tournament'. But it wasn't like that, I had to recover to play again in 40 hours and get back on track to measure myself against Tsitsipas. He played a great tournament and also a great clay court season and he beat me two sets in a row in the final. Everything that this tournament and this title entails has been very special. This great title has a double value for me and I am very happy. “

The Serbian already has his new challenge in mind: Wimbledon, where he managed to win the title in the last two editions in 2018 and 2019. “Now I go back to Wimbledon again. Fortunately, I think I have the opportunity to win the title again. I won the title in 2018 and 2019, in 2020 it was not played and I hope to continue that streak. I feel very good on grass and I think I have improved a lot with my game on grass. Each Grand Slam is like an Everest that must be climbed for each tennis player. “

Djokovic also does not avoid what is the main challenge in his career. “I want to go for the title at Wimbledon, at the US Open and at every Grand Slam I play. I have high expectations for myself. I try to live in the present moment, do everything correctly, have a good mind and also my body. That will help me beat anyone on any surface. “

Finally, Djokovic wanted to highlight the great job the Mallorca Championship is doing in hosting this tournament on grass, something that Nole considers to be very difficult to do outside of England. “It is not easy to find grass courts outside of Great Britain and it is a very difficult surface to create and maintain a very good court. for professional competitors because after several days to train you already have holes. It's not easy for these guys to keep track but they are doing a great job. There is a lot of humidity, a lot of heat, these are not the perfect conditions to play on grass, but those in Mallorca are possibly the highest quality grass courts outside of England. For perfect grass conditions you need 'English conditions', which are very difficult to replicate. The organization of the tournament is also very friendly and many players are enjoying this opportunity to play before Wimbledon in an incredible place like Mallorca. “