Novak Djokovic revealed the competition he always envisioned winning as a kid after his historic Australian Open victory.
Following the COVID-19 vaccine scandal that led to his deportation from Australia, Djokovic put up a strong run to capture his 10th Australian Open championship. He won the Melbourne Park championship by defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3, 7-6(4), and 7-6(5) to complete La Decima and tie Rafael Nadal for the most Grand Slam titles (22) in men’s singles tennis.
The win allowed the Serbian to reclaim the top spot in the ATP rankings and provides him a chance to surpass Steffi Graf’s mark of 377 consecutive weeks at the top.
After winning the Asia-Pacific Major, Djokovic sat down for a conversation with a young Australian fan while posing with his trophy. During the conversation, he disclosed that as a youngster, he assembled a makeshift Wimbledon trophy from whatever he had on hand and held it in front of the mirror with the hope that he would one day win the tournament.
When I was eight years old, I was building an improvised Wimbledon trophy in my room in my hometown of Belgrade, Serbia, using the supplies I had available. I was acting silly, playing a game with myself, holding this trophy up to the mirror, and promising myself that I would win Wimbledon one day. So, he said, “That was the competition I had always hoped to win.
The seven-time Wimbledon champion said that while he had always intended to win as many Grand Slam championships as he could, he had never thought that he would go on to win a staggering 10 Australian Open crowns.