Novak Djokovic wants revenge at Wimbledon after French Open semi-final thriller with Rafael Nadal
World number one believes that he can replicate 2011 success despite losing out to Spaniard in epic semi-final clash
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Your support makes all the difference.World number one Novak Djokovic is out for revenge at Wimbledon following his titanic battle in the French Open semi-final, which ended in defeat to Rafael Nadal.
Djokovic lost to the Spaniard in in a five-set thriller as Nadal – who took the final set 9-7 - marched on to claim his eighth title at Roland Garros.
But the Serb now heads to his favourite tournament and is keen on adding to his 2011 success at SW19, having already claimed the Australian Open earlier in the year.
"The consolation is that I have Wimbledon coming up and there is no bigger motivation than playing in the most prestigious tournament in the world in our sport," he admitted.
"It is the one I always dreamed of winning and it was the highlight of my career. I love playing in Wimbledon - the grass is the most special surface in our sport.
"Hopefully I can bounce back from that defeat to Nadal in Paris that was a thrilling match to be a part of. Life goes on and it and won't be the first or last time I lose.
"I lost to him at the French three or four times before this year. A loss is a loss and of course it hurts, but the next day you wake up to a new day and you have to stand up and work and get stronger."
Djokovic won a light-hearted match against Grigor Dimitrov in The Boodles event at Stoke Park as part of his Wimbledon preparations, taking the tie 5-7 6-3 10-6.
He belives that the similar methods that he used before his 2011 success as well as this year’s French Open will stand him in good stead to succeed at this year tournament.
"Preparations are more or less the same, we are respecting the same kind of programmes and routines with my team of people," he added.
"Everything is going according to plan and hopefully I can get in the best possible shape before the start.”
He admitted that the change of surface does always pose a problem, but it is one that everyone faces, and he does not believe that it will be a factor once the tournament gets underway.
"It is a busy schedule but it has been like this for many years so I know what I need to do to adjust from the slower to the faster surface in a short period of time. It is difficult but it is the same for everybody.
"It is movement mostly. The ball bounce and everything is different. You can't slide and there is a difference in steps and adjustments and everything happens very fast on grass. Obviously it takes time. I think I'm going to be fine for Wimbledon."
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