Djokovic dismisses his own chances of winning Wimbledon
NOVAK DJOKOVIC ended his week with a gloomy countenance and discounting his chances of winning Wimbledon. Yet in going down to a three-set defeat in the Fever-Tree Championships final he found himself in good company — as over in Germany, Roger Federer also suffered a setback to his preparations for the big fortnight. Both of them lost to Croatians, Djokovic falling 5-7, 7-6, 6-3 to Marin Cilic at Queen’s Club, while in Halle the great Swiss was beaten by 21-year-old Borna Coric, a less formidable grass court player than his compatriot. Despite that, it was Djokovic who was decidedly less happy as he assessed his prospects for SW19. ‘I wouldn’t say I’m a contender, you know, for a trophy or anything like that,’ he said. ‘I have to keep my expectations very low, considering my results in the last 12 months.’ It is certainly true that, after missing the second half of last season, these results have been well below his usual standards. He remains without a title since winning at Eastbourne nearly a year ago, but he is on an upward trajectory from the depths of March, when it seemed he could barely be bothered to try. Federer remains chirpy and it is distinctly premature to think that his campaign to win another Wimbledon at the age of 36 has been blown off course by a 7-6, 3-6, 6-2 defeat at the hands of the feisty Coric. ‘I’m definitely going to leave with my head high, thinking it’s been a good run in Stuttgart and Halle,’ he said.
PETRA KVITOVA established herself as arguably the women’s favourite for Wimbledon when she beat Magdalena Rybarikova 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 to retain the Nature Valley Classic title in Birmingham. It was her fifth singles title of 2018.