Novak Djokovic discusses his incredible tiebreak streak ahead of Wimbledon final
Novak Djokovic has revealed his remarkable streak of consecutive tiebreaks won makes him “more resilient or tougher in these situations” ahead of his ninth Wimbledon final.
The Serbian, who has won 13 straight tiebreaks, thinks opponents are aware of his record and believes this “makes a difference” mentally.
The 23-time major champion has not lost a tiebreak since the second set of his quarter-final defeat to Dusan Lajovic in the Banja Luka quarter-finals in April.
Djokovic started the run by winning the first set of his opening match against Tomas Martin Etcheverry at the Italian Open in May on a tiebreak. He then prevailed in six tiebreaks en route to winning the French Open without making a single unforced error.
At the ongoing Wimbledon Championships, the 36-year-old triumphed in all six of the tiebreaks he contested in his six matches so far.
Djokovic suggested the streak gives him a mental edge after his semi-final win over Jannik Sinner on Friday, where he closed out the match in a third set tiebreak.
“Yeah, I am aware of the tiebreak streak. I think the longer the streak goes, I guess mentally the more resilient or tougher I am in these particular situations,” said the world No 2 in his press conference.
“Coming into every tiebreak now, I feel I think more comfortable than my opponent just because of the record. I think that my opponents also know about that record. That mentally makes a difference.
“I was down 3-1 in the tiebreak. He really gifted me the point with the double-fault, and I was back in the tiebreak. It could have been 4-1 for him. Who knows what kind of direction the tiebreak would go into.
“Tiebreak is such in a way a gamble because one or two points can really decide the whole course of a tiebreak on grass. If you make one double-fault or if you miss a first serve, the opponent plays a great return, and you hold your serve till the end of the tiebreak, that can be enough.
“That’s why going into tiebreaks in grass, probably even more stressful than any other surface because you know that you won’t maybe get as many chances to be in the rally.
“Yeah, I mean, he didn’t play such a great last three, four points. Made mistakes. I was just trying to stay in the point and make him play, make him play an extra shot, and it was enough.”
Djokovic will face current world No 1 Carlos Alcaraz in the Wimbledon men’s singles final on Sunday. He is looking to win a record-equalling eighth men’s title and 24th Grand Slam crown overall.
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