The world witnessed an epic battle between two of the greatest players of all time at the 2019 Wimbledon Open Final where Novak Djokovic made a beautiful comeback against Roger Federer.
Federer was leading in the final set 8-7 after breaking Djokovic’s serve in the previous game and stood at 40-15. Federer who was serving was just a point away from winning his 21st Grand Slam and his 8th Wimbledon Open title. But, Djokovic saved two match points and broke the serve to win the game.
Djokovic’s resilience in that game shifted the momentum of the game toward him and went on to win the final set 13-12 and eventually defended the Title. It proved to be the longest Wimbledon Final which lasted for 4 hours and 57 minutes. Three of the sets were pushed to the tie-breaker and all three were won by Djokovic. It was Djokovic’s 16th overall Major title and 5th Wimbledon Title.
In a recent interview with CB’s 60 Minutes, Djokovic admitted that Federer played better tennis on the day but he clinched the critical moments.
“I beat him(Federer) 13-12 in the 5th set. The sets that I won were all won in tiebreaks. Overall, if you see stats, he was the far better player in every aspect, but I won the match. So, that actually tells you can still win if you pick and choose which moments of the match you’re peaking and playing your best when it matters.”
– Novak Djokovic in an interview
The Serb also admitted that he continuously works on the mental side of his game, and it has given him the strength to win big matches from being match points down.
The 2019 Wimbledon Final proved to be Federer’s last chance of winning a Slam before he retired in 2022.
Iga Swiatek’s psychologist Daria Abramowicz supports Novak Djokovic’s take on the mental side of a game
Novak Djokovic admitted to experiencing ‘doubt and fear’ in a game and it was backed by Daria Abramowicz, who is the psychologist of Iga Swiatek.
In a recent interview with CB’s show 60 Minutes, Djokovic stated that he doesn’t believe in a theory where athletes always need to be positive. He believes that doubt and fear are part of a match and that acknowledging one’s emotions is very important.
Siwatek’s psychologist Daria backed Djokovic by reposting a clip from the interview.
Athletes are, first and foremost, human beings.
-Daria Abramowicz on X
Athletes are, first and foremost, human beings. 👇🏼👏🏼 https://t.co/LpPiGl9aif
— Daria Abramowicz (@abramowiczd) December 11, 2023
