‘I was inspired by thought of my son seeing me lift trophy’
NOVAK DJOKOVIC revealed that the thought of his three-year-old son watching him lift the Wimbledon trophy drove him on to win a fourth singles title. All England Club rules forbid children under five being on the show courts during matches, but little Stefan was brought into the players’ box after his father had completed his straight-sets victory over Kevin Anderson. ‘It was one of, if not the biggest motivation I’ve had for Wimbledon this year,’ said the 31-year-old Serb. ‘I was visualising this moment of him coming to the stands. I was cherishing this moment with my wife and me and everyone. It’s hard to describe. ‘I never had him in the box watching. I was hoping that Wimbledon can be that tournament because he’s big enough now to stay quiet for 30 minutes or so. ‘There are special rules here so we have to respect them. Stefan was not there until the very moment when I was walking to do an interview (with Sue Barker). So that was just a moment that I will carry inside of my heart for ever.’ Djokovic rated his win as up there with his first title, given the struggles he has been through over the past two years, which have included battling an elbow injury. ‘I think alongside the first Wimbledon title when I managed to get No 1 in the world for the first time in 2011, this is probably next to that the biggest achievement I had. ‘It really is special considering the last two years, absolutely. I’ve never faced a major injury in my career before. I changed the racket, made some compensations in my game. I had to adjust. It took me a while.’ Anderson had an on-court consultation with the physio and was still feeling the effects of his marathon semi-final. He called for Wimbledon to copy the US Open in bringing in a fifth-set tiebreak. ‘If a winner hasn’t been decided at six-all in the fifth, I don’t think there’s a reason to continue playing,’ he said. ‘There’s not much value in having to break serve and hold serve. A tiebreaker would be fine.’