Novak Djokovic on Wimbledon final loss: I was over it in a day

After dominating the opening set on his beloved Centre Court 6-1, Djokovic was well on track to pick up his 24th grand slam. But the young pretender Alcaraz rallied to give tennis fans a final for the ages, taking nearly five hours to defeat the indomitable Serb.

But a philosophical Djokovic told atptour.com that it's water under the bridge...

"It's not the first [nor] the last match that I lost, so I was over it in a day," said the 36-year-old.

"Obviously, I needed some really good rest after that, and some time with my family, and that's what I did. So, of course, I was regretting not using the chances during that final.

"I was [a] set up and had some set points in the second and I felt that I was close to being in the lead. And then, obviously, some break points in the fifth. It was a close match, but well deserved from his side, because to win he played better in the important moments, and that's what I said after the final. I think he was a deserved winner and that's it really, pretty much. You move on."

Pundits viewed the final as somewhat of a changing of the guard at the top of men's tennis and - given Djokovic's plethora of achievements - questioned the aging player's motivation going forward. But he insits the desire to compete still burns.

"I like the feeling that I have after 20 plus years of professional tennis.... there's still fire going," he said.

"There's still that drive and motivation to really come at the biggest events in sport and try to win, try to win titles and try to bring some good sensation to the crowds."

Djokovic was speaking to the press in Cincinnati ahead of the Western & Southern Open this week. It marks the first time he's set foot in the US since the pandemic. Djokovic has missed America, and if the droves of peopple around his training court was anything to go by, the Land of the Free clearly missed him too...

"It was amazing, to be honest... I made a joke with my coach, and I asked him whether we are [at] the right court because we thought it [was] a match," quipped Djokovic.

"He actually said he thought it was a match happening because it [was] a match court. It's really amazing. I'm very grateful for the presence of so many people on a practice session, which is amazing.

"Again, I did experience some tournaments throughout the world, similar atmospheres in terms of the great attendance on the practice courts. But I guess, for a while, nothing of this intensity in terms of the presence and the participation of the crowd, on the practice court."

Djokovic will begin his Cincinnati Masters run against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina or Tomas Martin Etcheverry later this week.

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