Novak Djokovic reveals hiking trip after loss at French Open inspired him to summer success

Back-to-back Slams: Djokovic celebrates after clinching the US Open title
AFP/Getty Images
Paul Newman10 September 2018

Novak Djokovic, who followed up his Wimbledon triumph by winning his third US Open title here on Sunday, says the inspiration for his remarkable run of success this summer came from a five-day hiking trip in France three months ago with his wife, Jelena.

After securing his 14th Grand Slam title with a 6-3, 7-6, 6-3 victory over Juan Martin del Potro, Djokovic said he could trace the motivation for his latest victories back to his ascent of a mountain near Aix-en-Provence shortly after his defeat in the quarter-finals of the French Open in June.

Montagne Sainte-Victoire has long been an inspiration for artists. In particular, it was painted many times by the post-impressionist Paul Cezanne, who lived nearby.

“We reached the top after three hours,” Djokovic said here in the wake of his third Wimbledon-US Open double. “We sat down and we just looked at the world from that perspective, just breathed in the new inspiration, new motivation.

“I thought of tennis, thought of the emotion that tennis provokes in me. It was all positives. I just felt like I had a new breath for this sport. The rest is history in terms of results, in terms of how I felt. I just felt like a whole wave of energy that I was thriving on from that moment onwards.”

That energy has driven Djokovic to a stunning run this summer which has seen him climb into joint third place in the all-time list of men’s Grand Slam singles champions alongside Pete Sampras. The only men with more titles are Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, who have won 20 and 17 respectively.

Djokovic said it was “truly incredible” to have matched Sampras, who had first inspired him to take up the sport. “Pete Sampras is one of the biggest legends ever to play the game,” Djokovic said. “He was my childhood idol.”

The Serb added: “Maybe 10 years ago, I would have said that I’m not so happy to be part of this era with Nadal and Federer. Actually, today I am. I really am. I feel like rivalries with these guys have made me the player I am, have shaped me into the player I am today.”

In Pictures | US Open Men's Singles Final | 09/09/2018

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The victory over Del Potro, who had been aiming to repeat his victory here nine years ago in his only previous appearance in a Grand Slam final, was a hard-fought battle in which Djokovic ground down his Argentine opponent after more than three and a quarter hours with the relentless accuracy of his game. The match was played with the roof over Arthur Ashe Stadium closed because of rain.

A 95-minute second set — the longest of the tournament — was crucial to the outcome. The eighth game of the set took 20 minutes and featured eight deuces and three break points for Del Potro, but Djokovic held firm.

Del Potro, back at the top of the game after four wrist operations, led 3-1 in the tie-break but lost the next six points to give Djokovic a firm grip on the match.

Del Potro was in floods of tears at the end. “I was playing at the limit almost all the time, looking for winners with my forehands and backhands,” he said. “I couldn’t make them because Novak was there every time.”

Djokovic dropped out of the world’s top 20 during a two-year spell in which he failed to add to his Grand Slam trophy collection and struggled with motivation and an elbow injury, but in today’s updated rankings list he is back at No 3 behind Nadal and Federer.

The win also took the Serb back to the top of the sport’s all-time earnings list. Djokovic’s career earnings total $119.1million (about £92.1m), which is $1.3m (about £1m) more than Federer has earned.

Britain’s Alfie Hewett completed a double in the wheelchair events here when he added the singles title to the doubles crown he had won on Saturday alongside his fellow countryman Gordon Reid. Hewett beat Japan’s Shingo Kunieda 6-3, 7-5 to claim the singles title.

Anton Matusevich, who is based in Bromley, won his first Grand Slam junior title. The 17-year-old Briton joined forces with Bulgaria’s Adrian Andreev to win the boys’ doubles.

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