Novak Djokovic : Obviously my best wasn't enough this year
World No. 1 Novak Djokovic came into the Wimbledon earmarked as favorite to complete his Calendar slam but instead crashed out ingloriously in the third round. The 12-Slam winner chose to downplay it and suggested that he was not motivated enough this time around after winning the French Open.
World No.1 Novak Djokovic’s remarkable Grand Slam-winning run ended yesterday after he suffered a humiliating 6-7, 1-6, 6-3, 6-7 defeat to 28th seed Sam Querrey in the third round of the Wimbledon. After trailing by two sets day before yesterday, play had been interrupted. Djokovic bounced back to win the 3rd set, but Querrey won the 4th set on the back of some good play and a stream of unforced errors from the defending champion.
Speaking after the loss, Djokovic said, "I believe in positive things in life. I managed to win four Grand Slams in a row. I want to try to focus on that rather than on failure," reported AP.
The World No.1 downplayed the one-off loss and said, "Certainly it's not the first time that I'm losing in a Grand Slam match, or any match for that matter. I know what to do.
"It's disappointing, of course. Losing at a Grand Slam hurts more than any other tournament. There is no doubt about that.
"I'm not happy to lose a match. But I'm going to move on from this hopefully as a stronger player."
Djokovic had defeated Andy Murray in a four-setter at the French Open final to clinch the only slam missing from his trophy cabinet so far. Djoker admitted that he had found it hard to motivate himself after that victory.
It's an amazing feeling to be able to hold four Grand Slams at the same time. But coming into Wimbledon, I knew that mentally it's not going to be easy to kind of remotivate myself.
Djokovic
"The importance of this tournament is so immense that you always find ways to try to give your best.
"Obviously, my best wasn't enough this year."
Although rain interrupted the match and it was played in Court No. 1 instead of the center court, Djokovic took no credit away from Querrey.
The 29-year old said, "It's really not necessary to talk about the rain interruptions and the conditions. It's the same for both of us.
I play 90 percent of the matches on the Centre Court, 10 percent on the other court. Obviously, I'm going to feel better on the Centre Court.
"I don't want to take anything out of victory for my opponent. He played a terrific match.
"He served very well. That part of his game was brutal. He just overpowered me," reported AP.
However, the 12-time Grand Slam champion snapped when he was asked about any other reasons for his shocking loss. "I just don't want to talk about it. Please respect that," he concluded.