Winning Wimbledon, said Novak Djokovic on Sunday, was the culmination of a lifelong dream. The Serb's four-set victory over Rafael Nadal gave him his third grand slam title and when the Spaniard's backhand sailed long to give him victory, he celebrated by eating a blade of grass on Centre Court.
Novak Djokovic said he was ecstatic after adding the Wimbledon title to his new status as world number one.
Despite a third-set wobble the Serb, 24, beat Rafael Nadal 6-4 6-1 1-6 6-3 to secure his third Grand Slam title.
Djokovic, who ensured he would displace Nadal at the top of the rankings by winning his semi-final on Friday, said: "I achieved a lifetime goal and I made my dream come true in three days.
"It's an amazing feeling I won't forget and it's the best day of my career."
Djokovic guaranteed he would be world number one in the new rankings when he beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the last four and he followed up by outplaying defending champion Nadal on Centre Court on Sunday.
The 24-year-old, who won his second Australian Open title in January and has lost just one match all year, said his victory was based on a lifetime's work."For these kind of days, I was practising every day, being dedicated, being a tennis professional," he said.
"Any athlete in the world dreams of being number one. This is something that gives us a lot of motivation. So finally when you really do it and when you know that you're the best, it's just an amazing achievement."
Djokovic said the Wimbledon win was his best. "I think most of the tennis players rate this grand slam as the most important tournament in our sport. So I think that sentence gives you an idea of how much this means for a player to win."
He credits a handful of factors with helping him truly excel recently: more maturity; confidence from helping Serbia win its first Davis Cup title in December; and a gluten-free diet he doesn't like to discuss in any detail.
For so many years, Federer and Nadal ruled tennis. One or the other was No. 1 every week since February 2004. One or the other won 22 of the last 26 Grand Slam tournaments, including Nadal's 10 titles."We all know the careers of Nadal and Federer. ... They have been the two most dominant players in the world the last five years. They have won most of the majors," Djokovic said. "So sometimes it did feel a little bit frustrating when you kind of get to the later stages of a Grand Slam - meaning last four, last eight - and then you have to meet them. They always come up with their best tennis when it matters the most. ... I always believed that I have (enough) quality to beat those two guys."
Djokovic's victory made it 48 victories from 49 matches in an astonishing season that has also brought him the Australian Open and six ATP Tour titles, with his only defeat coming against Roger Federer in the French Open semi-finals.
It was the fifth time he had defeated Nadal this year and Djokovic said: "Winning two sets in just over an hour against the defending champion on the court he hadn't lost on for four years was incredible.
"I was just trying to enjoy the tennis that I was playing. It was the best tennis match on grass courts I've played ever."
Having become the first Serbian man to win at the All England Club, to add to his two Australian Open titles, a shocked Djokovic seemed uncertain on how to celebrate, opting to bizarrely pick some grass off the court and put it into his mouth.
"I felt like an animal - I wanted to see how it tastes," he added. "It came spontaneously, I didn't plan to do it, I didn't know what to do for my excitement and joy. It tastes good!"
Nadal, who carried a foot injury into the final, was second best for long periods of the two hour 28 minute contest.
"I lost because I am playing against the best player of the moment, the best player of the world tomorrow, and I am the second," the 10-time Grand Slam champion said
"When you play against these players and they are playing unbelievably, the normal thing is to lose. That’s what has happened from the last few times.
"When I was 100% to play, I lost against him five times. The rest of the year I won almost every match, so I'm doing things very well, but probably not against him.
"That's what I have to change. Probably the mental part is a little bit dangerous for me, because when I was at 5-4 [in the first set], I played a bad game from 30-0. When I was 4-3 down in the fourth set, I played another bad game with my serve.
"To win these kinds of matches, I have to play well at those moments. To change things I probably have to be less nervous, play more aggressive, and all the time be confident with myself. That's what I'm going to try next time. If not, I'm going to be here explaining the sixth."
Having achieved his lifelong ambitions, Djokovic insisted: "This is what I'm born for. I want to win more Grand Slams. I will definitely not stop here."
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