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You could forgive 24-year-old Novak Djokovic if the
moment got to his head. But his revelry left some scratching their
heads.
The Serbian tennis star, who on Monday will become the new world number
1 and who has lost only one match this year, had just beaten Rafael
Nadal in four stunning sets in the Wimbledon final in front of a huge
ensemble of family, friends, supporters, and the president of Serbia
himself. But shortly after winning the last point of his 6-4, 6-1, 1-6,
6-3 victory, he indulged in an unlikely celebration: he ate dirt.
Reaching down, Djokovic plucked some grass and soil from Center Court
and put it in his mouth. It was a gesture of humility and reverence at
the scene of his greatest triumph as an athlete, and was followed by an
equally graceful acceptance speech. "It's really hard to describe with
any words except that it's the best day of my life, the most special day
of my life," Djokovic told the Center Court crowd. "This is my favorite
tournament. I always dreamed of winning the first tournament I watched
in my life. I think I am still sleeping and having my dream.
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In a final defined by long, varied exchanges, Djokovic upset Nadal, the
reigning champion, by proving once again what Nadal has long established
at Wimbledon: that a gymnastic ability to retrieve balls from defensive
positions has become as an effective tactic in grass court tennis today
as offensive attacking style was a decade ago. Over the course of four
sets, Djokovic's clean and precise hitting wore Nadal down—in much the
same way as the Spaniard defeated Swiss great Roger Federer in previous
encounters.
"When you're playing the best player in the world, Rafa Nadal, who has
won two of the last three Wimbledons, he has always been winning the big
matches against me in the Grand Slams and I had to be on top of my game
today. I probably played my best match ever on the grass court, and I
want to congratulate him for having a great tournament," Djokovic said.
Lacking Nadal's charisma and Federer's grace, Djokovic is probably the
least popular of tennis' top echelon of stars. And while the fervent and
immodest courtside support of his family has at times failed to endear
him to fellow players and fans—his mother and chest-thumping younger
brothers have shown up to his matches in the past wearing shirts bearing
Novak's visage—Djokovic's private celebration ritual after Sunday's
final, coupled with his humble acceptance speech, may mean that he has
finally earned the two things that had most frustratingly eluded him in
his career: a Wimbledon trophy, and universal respect.
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