World number one Novak Djokovic admits that top players couldn’t easily cruise during their earlier matches without working hard for it.
“You cannot take anything or anybody for granted. You have to be grateful for being in this position and work even harder to stay there. That’s the whole point,” said Djokovic.
One of the Serb’s biggest rival on tour, Rafael Nadal, bowed out in the opening round of the Wimbledon 2013 Championships, sending shockwaves in the tennis world. The Spaniard, who entered the tournament as the heavy favorite, was ousted by 135th-ranked Steve Darcis. Meanwhile, Djokovic avoided the same fate by beating his first round opponent Florian Mayer of Germany in straight sets.
“The sport is evolving, like everything in life. Everybody is getting better, getting more professional. Especially at the opening stages of Grand Slams, there are a lot of quality players who have nothing to lose really coming on the Centre Court or Court 1, playing in front of 10,000 or more people. Against one of the top players, what can you really lose? You’re going and you’re playing your best tennis,” Djokovic explained.
The top-ranked player admitted that he was monitoring the Nadal-Darcis match and credited the victor for playing a great match.
“I watched the bigger part of that match and I thought that [Nadal’s] opponent played great. Darcis came up with some incredible shots, incredible points in important moments and he deserved to win,” he said.
“I know people expect [Nadal and] all the other top players to get to at least the final stages of a Grand Slam or whatever tournament they play. It was a surprise in the end him losing to Darcis, but his opponent played great,” he added.
