Serbian star Novak Djokovic continued his enthralling form in 2011, with a fantastic 6-4, 6-1, 1-6, 6-3 win over defending champion and top-seeded Spaniard Rafael Nadal in the finals at the All England Lawn Tennis Club on Sunday to capture his first Wimbledon trophy and third career Grand Slam title!
Novak’s career has been leading up to this moment. " My ambition or goal is to become no.1, " he was saying. " My dream is to win Wimbledon. "
He’s now realised both. By reaching the Championships final, Novak guaranteed himself the no.1 ranking, and by winning the grand final, he will have his name written in history of tennis as a winner of the most prestigious tournament in the world.
" It's really hard to describe this with words except as the most special day of my life," said Nole at the trophy ceremony. "This is my favourite tournament, the one I always dreamed of winning, the one I watched when I was a child. It feels like I am still dreaming. When you're playing the best player in the world, who has won two of the last three Wimbledons, and he wins the big matches against me, I had to be on the top of my game and play probably my best match on grass ever. "
Only two other men in the Open Era (since 1968) have won their first career grass-court titles at Wimbledon – Michael Stich in 1991 and Andre Agassi in 1992.
This has been been a great match with both players on great form. Novak has never beaten Nadal in a major before, but he’s beaten him in all four ATP finals this year, so he got into the match full of confidence and self-belief. As he has done all year, the new world no.1 played aggressively and gave his opponent few chances.
Novak got this clash underway by serving first. Both players held their serves till the tenth game, when Djokovic put the pressure on Nadal and broke him to take the first set 6-4.
The 24-year-old Belgrade native raced through the second set with a double break for 6-1 in 33 minutes.
There was a shift in momentum in the third set. Nadal won it 6-1, breaking Djokovic in the second and sixth games.
Novak faced scare in the opening game of the fourth set, but he held to put himself ahead. We then saw an exchange of breaks when the Spaniard came back from 0-2 to level at 2-all. Nole made a crucial break in the eighth game. He earned three opportunities and capitalised on the second for 5-3 lead. The best Serbian tennis player then served out the set and match 6-3 for the fifth consecutive win over Rafa and first Wimbledon title.
" I can't find words to describe the feeling that I have right now," said Nole, shortly after he captured the third Grand Slam championship title of his eight-season professional career. "I managed to achieve a lifetime goal and I managed to make my dream come true, all in three days' time. It's just an incredible feeling that I'm never going to forget. This is the best day of my tennis career. "
" Congratulations to Novak and his team for the victory and his amazing season, " Rafa said. " When I won in 2008 my emotions were very high so I can imagine what it is like for him. I tried my best as always but he was better than me. "
Match statistics: aces (7-5), double faults (1-1), winners (27-21), unforced errors (12-15).
Djokovic has been in spectacular form this year. He improved his record in 2011 to amazing 48-1 taking the Australian Open and Wimbledon title and winning six other tournaments. Nole’s explosion of success came on the back of his superb performance in leading Serbia to the Davis Cup title, last December.
Novak proved himself the best player in the world with a stunning victory and became the first Serbian man to win Wimbledon.
He is ready to capture more major championships. "This is what I'm born for. I want to win more Grand Slams. I will definitely not stop here."
The dominance will finally show tomorrow when the new ATP Ranking list is announced. Nole's name will shine at the world no.1 for the first time. He will have 13,285 points, 2,015 more than the second-ranked Nadal.
SOURCE: Novak Djokovic Official WebSite
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