Murray salutes Djokovic consistency as World No. 1 remains the man to beat

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  • Man to beat: Djokovic.

    For the first time in his career, Novak Djokovic arrives at Wimbledon as reigning Roland Garros champion and the Serb is relishing the feeling.

    Three weeks ago in Paris, the Serb became the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to win four consecutive majors and completed the career Grand Slam, capturing the French Open crown that had eluded him for so many years.

    Looking to become just the second man in history – and first since Don Budge in 1938 – to win five grand slams in a row, Djokovic is once again the hunted man at the All England Club this fortnight.

    The world No. 1 is on an astonishing run of dominance that has confounded everyone, most of all his opponents.

    When prompted to choose the thing he admires the most about Djokovic’s game, world No. 2 Andy Murray said: “I think the consistency. He obviously plays every shot well. He doesn’t have weaknesses in his game. He does everything well. Plays well on all of the courts. But his consistency and drive over the last few years has been incredible.

    “The amount of finals he’s played, there’s been barely any matches that he’s played that you’d call upsets in the last, I don’t know, 15, 16 months, since Doha last year.

    “He made, what, every single final through until he pulled out in Dubai earlier this year. I don’t know if that’s ever happened before, where someone’s pretty much gone over a year consistently reaching the finals of tournaments. That’s the most impressive thing.

    “In an individual sport, if you have a really bad day, wake up, you feel terrible, you lose at this level. He hasn’t had really any of those results or those matches over the last few years. That’s impressive.”

    That consistency is something Djokovic admits has been his ultimate goal and it’s something he has laboured to achieve. He is targeting a third consecutive Wimbledon title, and fourth overall, and would take his grand slam tally to a total of 13 with victory this fortnight.

    “I can certainly say that I’ve been working hard to get that consistency, I think, for myself throughout the years on the tour, on all different kinds of surfaces, trying to better my game as my career went on. Trying to be dedicated to my own progress, my own improvement,” said Djokovic ahead of his opening round today against British wildcard James Ward.

    “Obviously, I’m at the peak of my career at the moment. I see still lots of room for improvement, things that I can work on. That’s something that encourages me. That’s something that keeps me grounded, gives me more reason to practice.”

    As the case in previous years, Djokovic has not played any warm-up tournaments on grass leading up to Wimbledon, with the exception of one exhibition match at the Boodles, which he lost, to David Goffin. The 29-year-old is confident however in his preparation.

    “Winning Roland Garros was obviously one of the most memorable and beautiful moments of my career but it also it took a lot out of me,” conceded Djokovic. “I thought that it’s more important for me to just rejuvenate and rest a little bit from tennis and then come back preparing for Wimbledon.

    “I’ve played a match in Boodles. I’ve played a lot of points in the practice sessions these four or five days, trying to be on the grass as much as I can. Thankfully, the weather was allowing me to play each day on grass. So I’m really keen on getting on the court. You obviously will not know exactly how you feel until you start to play.”

    Djokovic remains on track for a calendar-year Grand Slam – winning all four majors in one season – which is something Serena Williams came close to pulling off last year before falling just two matches short at the US Open.

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