By Tony Fairbairn at WimbledonNovak Djokovic has hailed the ‘inspirational’ Serena Williams as the American gets set to return to tennis at 44 years of age.Aryna Sabalenka has revealed that she has hired a new psychologist and spoke more about the media boycott that is aimed to improve prize money at Grand Slams.There are also comments from defending champions Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek while Cameron Norrie is ready to embrace the ‘underdog’ tag.LONDON, ENGLAND – Novak Djokovic has ‘hailed’ the inspirational Serena Williams while Aryna Sabalenka spoke about hiring a psychologist as part of her team.
Novak Djokovic hails ‘inspirational’ Serena Williams
The media day diary starts with Novak Djokovic as the Serb moves to Wimbledon in search of more history.
A record-shattering 25th Grand Slam title has eluded Djokovic and his latest quest was ended at Roland Garros by the incredible Joao Fonseca.
Now, Djokovic looks to break his recent Grand Slam duck at Wimbledon and claim more history in his incredible career.
Speaking on Media Day, Djokovic has spoke about his preparations for Wimbledon and has admitted he feels physically better than at Roland Garros.
“Yes, I think it is different in terms of just the overall physical state. I think I’m better prepared here than I was for Roland Garros,” Djokovic said in his press conference.
“Obviously playing on grass, comparing to clay, you don’t need to exert as much physical effort. So that’s better for me. I always loved playing on grass. I have a very good score here, history, in Wimbledon. That gives me, of course, a higher dose of confidence coming into the tournament. Roland Garros was physically very draining, demanding. Three matches that I played, all of them went almost four hours.
“But I’m proud of the effort. I lost in the third round against a 20-years-younger opponent, fought until the end in the five sets almost, four and whatever hours that we played. Yeah, of course maybe not the result I was looking for, but the effort was there. Anyway, I was planning to peak at Wimbledon after the injury of the shoulder that kind of kept me away from the tour for several months. I knew not having any matches, official matches on the tour, going pretty much straight into Roland Garros, is going to be quite difficult.
“Maybe too big of a challenge for me at the moment. That’s what happened. But I knew that’s going to give me a bit more time to get myself prepared for Wimbledon. So hopefully I’ll have a good tournament here.”
It’s good to hear from Djokovic who struggled with injury throughout the clay court season and only played one tournament ahead of Roland Garros which is rare for him.
Now, Djokovic is ready to continue his quest for a historic 25th Grand Slam title but the Serb isn’t the only legend appearing at Wimbledon this year.
Seven-time champion Serena Williams is back at Wimbledon at the age of 44 as she continues to set the standard for the next generation.
Djokovic hailed the Williams sisters impact and is excited by Serena’s return.
“Look, first and foremost, what she’s doing is inspirational and it’s epic. That’s what I told her,” Djokovic explained.
“I always admired her career, her journey, her story. Of course, Venus’, as well. For her to come back after years of being absent from the tour, two children later, and to give so much effort to, not just for her own satisfaction or coming back on the tour, but also to give all of us a pleasure of seeing her back on the court – in singles as well as doubles – is remarkable.
“I told her that whatever happens, what she’s doing is truly inspirational for me personally, I’m sure for millions around the world. I see her in the gym more than I have, I think, seen her when she was at her prime. It tells me that she really wants this to work out the best way possible. It’s admirable, honestly, the effort she’s putting in.
“Of course, all eyes are on her, her comeback. I just hope that she will enjoy because she really deserves. She created something historical, legendary in her career. She deserves every applause she’s going to get.”
As for Djokovic, the Serb will start his Wimbledon against Yibing Wu on Monday afternoon on Centre Court.
Aryna Sabalenka hires Psychologist after Roland Garros meltdown
It’s not just Djokovic who is excited by Serena’s return though as world number one Aryna Sabalenka was also very happy to see the American return.
Speaking at her press conference Sabalenka admitted that the 23-time Grand Slam champion’s return to tennis is a good thing for the sport.
“I don’t know how far. I’m super excited to see her play. That’s incredible,” Sabalenka stated.
“I heard she said she’s doing that for her kids to see her play. They really get excited about that. It’s amazing what she’s doing. Also it’s Serena Williams, everyone was talking about that. She’s bringing more eyes on tennis. It’s a good thing for tennis. I’m really excited to see her play.”
Sabalenka will hope to draw inspiration from Williams’ career as she hopes to overcome a rough patch in her career.
The top seed suffered a big meltdown at Roland Garros in the quarter-finals against Diana Shnaider as her Parisian dreams must wait another year.
However, Sabalenka is now targeting a first Wimbledon title and has hired a psychologist in her bid for Wimbledon glory.
Speaking about the move Sabalenka admitted the mental part of the sport is really important to her.
“I feel like it’s mostly about mental part of the game. When I start working with psychologist, like, we spoke with my team, and it’s okay at some point I’ll have to get back to her,” Sabalenka analyzed.
“That will happen. I contacted her. I didn’t want to find someone else because you have to go through the whole story, you have to tell your whole story, make other person to understand you deeper. I went to person who knows me really well. For now we’re working again. I just feel like I need someone to throw all of my thoughts to, kind of like clear my head a little bit ahead of a big tournament. I think it’s really important.
“I mean, I have my team. We chat a lot. Sometimes you have things that you don’t want to throw at your team at the same time. I think it’s really important to have someone you can talk to and you can feel safe with.”
Sabalenka is a leader on the court as there is no length the world number one won’t go to in order to achieve Grand Slam success.
The world number one will hope her latest move will be rewarded and that will be put to the test in her first round match against Teodora Kostovic.
However, Sabalenka is also a leader off the court as she is leading the 15 minute time limit for media in order to increase prize money at Grand Slams.
Wimbledon increased their prize money by 20% and while that is a sign of progress Sabalenka believes more can be done.
“It’s a great start they raise the prize money. It’s an amazing start. If you look over the last 10 years, if you compare the prize money to 2016, it’s kind of like the same because they went down. It’s a great start,” Sabalenka acknowledged.
“I really hope we can finally get to the table and really get it done, come to conclusion that everyone going to be happy with. Hopefully we’ll never have to do it again. Like I said a minute ago, if you look to the prize money over the last 10 years, it’s kind of like stayed the same. Once again, I hope we not going to get to this boycotting again. Listen, we do it for the tour, we don’t do it for ourselves.
“We do it for the rest of the players who are suffering to even hire coach. It’s not an easy life for players who is, like, lower in the ranking. So we do it for them. I really hope that the crowd, I’m more than sure the crowd understand us. I mean, we’re playing matches, we’re there, we’re competing, we’re bringing the show. Now we just limiting our media. We just trying to really get to something that everyone going to be happy with.”
Jannik Sinner ‘feeling good’ after heat struggles
Another player who is joining in with limiting media commitments is Jannik Sinner as the Italian is hoping to provide better money for future generations to come.
The Italian spoke about the bid to increase prize money but refused to speak about any future player councils as it’s time to focus on the tennis.
“Yeah, I think it’s getting better, even though we are not at the point where we are 100% happy,” Sinner admitted in his press conference.
“In the same time we have seen improvement. Again, it’s not about the money – not only about the money. It’s the whole scenario we take into consideration with welfare and everything else. Let’s see.
“Look, I think we talked enough about this at the moment. The Grand Slams know what we ask, then we see how it goes. Again, I’m here now to talk about tennis.”
Talk about the tennis we shall as Sinner is aiming to recover from a bitterly disappointing Roland Garros campaign.
The Italian was four points away from victory in his second round match against Juan Manuel Cerundolo before the heat got to him and he suffered a shock exit.
There has been a recent heatwave in England and Sinner spoke about that as well as the tests he did after Roland Garros to try and improve his performances under these conditions in the future.
“Yeah, of course you cannot simulate 100% what you feel in a match because of tension-wise everything going around before and after match. We did some changes. I don’t say big, big changes. But I always believe in small details and small changes,” Sinner revealed.
“We are happy at the moment with what we are doing. The result we’re not going to see here. It’s a long process. There’s no magic behind. But yeah, we are doing as much as we can. I’m very happy with the work we did in the last two and a half weeks. Very long days. I feel well-prepared. No, were general tests to see health-wise how I was, to be sure that all is okay with the body, which is. All tests were really good. Even though we are very sure we need to practice in hotter conditions. I feel like everywhere where we play is going to be very hot.
“Every year is getting warmer and warmer. It a very important topic. But at the same time I’m happy the work we’re doing. We try to improve in the best possible way, then we see how it goes in the future.”
Sinner will be hoping the hard work pays off when he opens up Centre Court on Monday against Miomir Kecmanovic.
The Italian spoke about his grass court preparations and the art of playing well on grass as he prepares to defend his Wimbledon title.
“Yeah, I feel good. I think grass is very different surface obviously. You come here trying to do your best,” Sinner stated.
“In the same time if you play a tournament before here, maybe it’s not going the way you would like to, you come here with some doubts. If you don’t play any tournament, you don’t have these doubts, you just go and play. Look, last year I lost second round in Halle. I came here and I played very well. Every year is different.
“I try to have as much confidence as possible in my shots and in my abilities. First rounds, they’re always going to be very tough. I know that mentally. We are preparing ourself in the best possible way.”
Iga Swiatek excited about Wimbledon title defence
One defending champion to another as Iga Swiatek prepares for her title defence at Wimbledon a year on from her triumph over Amanda Anisimova.
The Pole has reflected on her memories from last year and is excited to return as defending champion but is being realistic about her chances this year.
“Exciting. I feel proud of what happened last year,” Swiatek happily stated in her press conference.
“My dream came true kind of. Not even a dream because I didn’t dream that because I thought it was impossible. It feels great. On the other hand, I’m here because of the next tournament. I need to also stay present. I feel like people talk about it more. I think the whole vibe of becoming a member is something that you are not going to experience on other tournaments. Maybe that’s why it feels a bit different. Honestly, I’m going to look at it in a realistic way.
“Obviously, yeah, last year’s grass season was great. But it’s not like I always felt amazing on grass, so… Even though I won, I still feel like I have stuff to figure out. Like this year even, the Bad Homburg tournament didn’t really get me that nice rhythm that I had last year. I feel like I’m starting from a totally different position and I’m really in a place that I’m keeping my expectations low. Even though everybody is talking about this, I feel like I need to play matches and I need to just — it’s not going to be smooth because of last year.
“That’s why I try to kind of not think about that too much, but more like be grateful about the experience and enjoy it because, as I said, my dream came true. It’s also good to take some happiness from that and be proud of it.”
Wimbledon has had ten different winners over the last ten years and Swiatek is hoping to end that trend this year.
A factor that could put Swiatek ahead of other previous winners is having the psychological advantage of having a psychologist in the past.
The Pole believes having a psychologist is ‘crucial’ and is happy to be one of the pioneers in opening up the conversation.
“Honestly, I also feel like many athletes did it before, but no one really was just talking about it. I always felt like I can be honest because I’m not a robot,” Swiatek admitted.
“I also wasn’t, like, born with all these skills to cope with expectations and stress and everything. You need to really work on it to have it. Even if you do, it’s not going to stay with you forever. Yeah, I feel like now I also hear from other athletes and maybe coaches that many people used this kind of help, but not on tour probably. For me it was quite different because I was working with psychologist, like meeting online once per week or something. I was still kind of like closed and not really able, maybe stupid sometimes, because wasn’t able to really describe what I felt or what I experienced.
“I realized that I need someone next to me to observe and to help me come to some conclusions, to help me figure stuff out. When I was younger, I decided that this is the way to go. For me it’s as important or even more important than physical preparation or even tennis-wise working. Honestly, if your head is not going to work the right way, you can have the best game on tour, but you’re not going to perform as you want.
“So yeah, for me it’s crucial.”
Swiatek will open up Centre Court on Tuesday against Taylor Townsend.
Cameron Norrie embraces ‘underdog’ status
The final word goes to Cameron Norrie as the British number one begins his Wimbledon campaign on Monday against Michael Zheng.
Norrie has struggled with injuries recently and had to withdraw from his opening round match at Roland Garros but has recovered well.
Despite reaching the quarter-finals last year, Norrie believes he is an underdog this year and is looking to embrace that status being attached to his name.
“Yeah, I don’t really do it on purpose. I would like to have done better at Queen’s and gone deeper there. I never planned to play in Eastbourne. I always feel going into Wimbledon that I really need to push and really need to get back on track where I was,” Norrie explained in his press conference.
“I’ve had, like, the whole week to kind of get ready. Had some matches in Hurlingham, which was fantastic. The preparation’s been really good. The weather’s put it on for me. I really like it when the grass is like this and it’s warm and hot. Yeah, it’s always nice to be the underdog going into whatever match you play. Such a special tournament.
“I think it’s nice to be able to use the crowd to your advantage. Yeah, there’s a lot of Brits in the draw this year, which is so good. Everyone’s playing well leading into the grass. I think I’ve got my best tennis to come still. Yeah, I’m going to just go use the crowd where I can. I think the biggest thing is playing point for point.
“Regardless if I’m playing unreal, playing shocking tennis, keep going, keep pushing. I feel like over the last maybe 10 slams I’ve been very difficult to beat. Obviously not including French Open where I had to retire, but the other ones I’ve been tough to beat.
“I want to use that to where I can. Yeah, I’m ready to go.”
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