Novak Djokovic reveals how French Open final between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner made him more motivated for Wimbledon


Alcaraz and Sinner duelled in an all-time classic that saw Alcaraz fight back from two sets down and save three championship points before winning in five hours and 29 minutes.

Djokovic was watching the contest from home having lost to Sinner in the semi-finals.

And the sky-high standard only made Djokovic hungrier to fulfill his ambition of winning a record 25th Grand Slam title.

“It impressed me a lot,” Djokovic told TNT Sports’ Arnold Montgault ahead of Wimbledon.

“Not many matches impress me in general but these two guys, the level they produced and how they kept they physicality and mentality is super impressive, one of the best matches I have ever seen.

“It provides more motivation, when I see something like that I get pumped, I want to be part of those matches again.”

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Djokovic is the sixth seed at Wimbledon, where he is a seven-time champion.

On the French Open final, he added: “I didn’t watch the first part of the match because I was outside with my family but they were insisting on coming back and watching, so I said ‘OK let’s go and watch’.

“It was already the third hour so we watched for two-and-a-half hours and I was at first quite neutral, I was not cheering for anyone and was trying to watch as a fan.

“But very quickly, I became so immersed in the match and I started sweating and feeling all emotional about it because it was amazing.”

But he says he has now moved on from the contest and is ready to go again as he seeks a first Wimbledon title.

“The healing process is gone now,” he told TNT Sports.

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“I feel like when you start a new Grand Slam you have to be 100% in this moment here. The past is the past, so let’s see what I can do here.

“It’s going to be a very interesting tournament for me but I feel confident and ready to compete and hopefully I can show some good tennis.”

World No. 1 Sinner opens against Luca Nardi on Tuesday.

“It’s nice that the audience and everyone enjoyed it,” he said about the French Open final.

“Me and Carlos after the match, we knew we did something great for tennis, that’s exactly what the sport needs, rivalries, up-and-coming players into the place where we are.”

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