This archive report was first published on 16 July 2019.
On a day when the Centre Court crowd seemed to be rooting for Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic proved once again why he is the master of attrition, winning his fifth Wimbledon title and 16th Grand Slam crown on Sunday.
With a five-set win over Federer, Djokovic sealed his place as the ultimate tennis anti-hero, and his resolve to continue dominating the sport seems unwavering.
“Hopefully, in five years’ time I can be hearing the same chants,” Djokovic said, as he signed off his news conference following the match.
Despite the lack of fanfare, Djokovic appears to be using it as fuel to keep collecting Grand Slam titles and move past Federer and Rafael Nadal to the top of the all-time list.
“Whether I’m going to be able to do it or not, I don’t know. I mean, I’m not really looking at age as a restriction of any kind for me at least,” Djokovic said.
With four of the last five Grand Slams under his belt, Djokovic appears to be in the middle of a period of domination that shows no sign of ending.
Former coach Boris Becker believes the race is now on, and all three players will add to their tallies, but time may be on Djokovic’s side.
“He’s a year younger than Nadal and five younger than Federer — we all know he fancies overtaking them,” Becker said. “Honestly, I think he can, but I wouldn’t say that for sure.”
