Djokovic bids for fifth Wimbledon title

WIMBLEDON, ENGLAND» A year ago, Novak Djokovic arrived at Wimbledon in a rut.

Still working his way back from elbow surgery, still fine-tuning a new service motion, he was more than 24 months removed from his most recent Grand Slam title. His ranking had tumbled out of the top 20 for the first time in over a decade.

One fortnight later, Djokovic was all the way back to his best. When he enjoys the defending male singles champion’s honor of being the first to play at Centre Court on Monday, facing unseeded Philipp Kohlschreiber, Djokovic will be ranked No. 1 and beginning his bid for a fifth title at the All England Club.

He’ll also be seeking a 16th major championship overall, and fourth in the past five Slam tournaments.

“Quite a difference,” Djokovic said. “Coming off from the surgery, being unable to have a consistency with the results, this was a huge springboard for me, the win at Wimbledon last year. That’s what kind of gave me that push — and also a huge relief.”

“One Grand Slam,” he said, “can definitely change anyone’s career in a few weeks. Even after winning 15 Slams, I still value these tournaments very much and understand the importance they have, importance of winning them on my entire career, my confidence, my future.”

After defeating Kevin Anderson in the Wimbledon final last July, Djokovic beat Juan Martin del Potro in the U.S. Open final in September and Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open final in January.

He wound up running his Grand Slam winning streak to 26 matches before losing a five-set tussle against Dominic Thiem at the French Open in early June.

So now it’s time to start a new run. Djokovic does not hide the fact that he would love to catch the only two men with more major trophies: Roger Federer with 20, and Nadal with 18.

At 32, Djokovic is the youngest member of the Big Three that has ruled tennis for the past 15-plus years; Federer is 37, Nadal 33. They have won 53 of the last 64 Grand Slam titles, including 10 in a row.