Imagine coming close to victory and missing it by a whisker. It’s like smelling the aroma of food when you’re hungry and being told that it’s over, when your turn to eat comes. Imagine losing out on your source of light and tripping ever since you lost it. It’s like being blind for the rest of your lives. Now just imagine yourself feeling all of this, under the scrutiny of a million eyes: some friendly, most hostile.
Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic was experiencing each one of these emotions when he walked into the court on Sunday, facing what anyone would call a tough challenge: Roger Federer all set on the other side of the court. His nervous moments were closing on him, as the five out of last six grand slam finals had swung the other way, three of them in a row. He not just faced the pressure of beating the great seven-time champion Roger Federer, he was also under the pressure of breaking the jinx. After all, the trends weren’t exactly comforting.
He lost his first coach in June last year. It has been a dry spell since then. Coming too close to a win and having his pie snatched by his opponent from right under his nose. The odds were stacked against him on Sunday. The critics weren’t being generous either. All this pressure in a do or die match, with the Wimbledon title at stake. A normal person would have succumbed to the pressure, but then, that’s what sets Djokovic apart.
In what fits the bill for an epic match, the duel between Djokovic and Federer lasted for 3 hours and 56 minutes. This was the first Wimbledon final since 2009 to have five sets. That itself explains how hard fought this win was. When his moment came, there was no containing the emotions. There was a free flow of tears, emotions and dedications. His would be wife and soon to arrive baby, his first coach and his current coach Boris Becker all got a piece of his pie.
A beautifully played match couldn’t have asked for a better ending, even with Federer agreeing that the better man took the cake. For Djokovic, of course, it was much more than claiming his second Wimbledon title; it was about conquesting some personal demons.
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