WIMBLEDON GLORY BEFORE WC FINAL FOR JOKER

NOVAK DJOKOVIC (caricature) insists he would happily miss a first appearance for Serbia in the World Cup final if it means he is back in the Wimbledon title match. Djokovic is an avid fan of the Serbian national team, who kicked off their World Cup campaign with a 1-0 win over Costa Rica in Russia on Sunday. Celebrating wildly after his friend Aleksandar Kolarov bagged Serbia’s winner with a superb freekick, Djokovic watched the match from a raucous players’ lounge at Queen’s Club in west London, where he is preparing for the start of the Wimbledon warm-up event next week. But the 31-year-old was surprised when he was told he would likely miss out on watching Serbia if they make a surprise appearance in the World Cup final. That is because the showpiece in Moscow is scheduled to kick off just hours after the Wimbledon men’s final begins at the All England Club on July 15. “Really? I didnt know that. Wow,” he told reporters. “From your mouth to gods ears as they say, hopefully that can happen. I’ve been fortunate to win Wimbledon three times and play well there. If that happens I would obviously be very happy to miss the World Cup final! This was best way to start campaign. Everybody is watching in the players lounge. I’m friends with Kolarov who scored an amazing goal today, and (Nemanja) Matic, these guys,” he said. “It’s a different sport, but we share a lot of things in common as athletes. We support each other, but can also share insights into how

we train.”