Novak Djokovic: Third Wimbledon Title Feels as Sweet as the First

A jubilant Novak Djokovic said that winning his third Wimbledon title was every bit as sweet as the first, after his 7-6, 6-7, 6-4, 6-3 victory over the seven-times champion, Roger Federer, gave him the title for a second straight year, taking his grand slam tally to nine.

The world No 1 recovered from the loss of the second set to repeat his triumph over the Swiss from 12 months ago, before completing his traditional celebration of eating a piece of the hallowed Centre Court turf.

"It's a great achievement," said Djokovic. "Even though it's a third title it feels like the first. I am extremely proud and it's a huge relief. That's the first thing I feel after finals, a huge relief. (There's Plenty More to Come: Djokovic)

"In the slams you play every second day but you encounter many things off the court, expectations from yourself, your team, people around you. It takes a lot of energy so that's the first thing, relief, it's over. It's nicer when you have the trophy with you." (Love and Marriage Key to Djokovic Success)

On his first wedding anniversary the victory was even sweeter for Djokovic after the disappointment of missing out in the final of the French Open last month, when he lost to Stan Wawrinka.

"I had two years pretty much the same situation, losing in the final in four sets, obviously disappointed and heartbroken," he said. "But the one thing I learned is to recover fast, learn things and move on.

"You can't think what happened in the French Open or a few weeks before. It was pretty good for me that Wimbledon was round the corner. Bouncing back from a tough loss, mentally, and winning this trophy makes it even bigger."

Federer, who had played so brilliantly to end Andy Murray's hopes in the semi-final, admitted that Djokovic had simply been too good on the day.

"I think Novak played great, not just today but the whole two weeks here, the whole year, the whole of last year as well," he said. "He deserved it. Of course I had my chances, being up a break [at 4-2 in the first set]. In the second set I got lucky to win that, had some chances early in the third but he was tough on the big points and then at the end he was rock solid. I thought he played great and I didn't play badly myself."

Federer, who turns 34 later this year, won the last of his 17 grand slam titles here three years ago, his only grand slam victory in the past five years. But the Swiss said the way he had played over the past fortnight made him even more convinced he could add to his tally.

"I'm still very hungry and motivated to keep playing and a match like this is very helpful," he said. "Of course I would have loved to win but Novak was too good. But at the end of the day I still enjoyed it."

As for Djokovic, he will now head to the US Open next month looking to add to what has already been a stunning year, including victory at the Australian Open and now here at Wimbledon. "This is a huge confidence boost for me, winning Wimbledon and having two grand slams this year," he said. "If I had lost this today, it would have been entirely different. I'm glad I managed to make it. I'll try to close out the grand slam season in the best possible way."

With nine grand slam titles to his name, Djokovic moved ahead of Andre Agassi and Ivan Lendl in the all-time list but said he still yearned for more.

"Of course there are a couple of grand slam finals I could have won but everything happens for a reason," he said. "I'm going to keep going. I'm 28, I feel good, I don't feel old, I have hopefully many more years and I'm going to push my limits and see how many titles I can win."