Andy Murray was full of praise for Novak Djokovic after the Serbian superstar created tennis history by lifting the French Open title at the weekend.
But Scotland’s own tennis hero could not resist a cheeky prediction for Wimbledon as he looked ahead to the action at SW19 later this summer.
Djokovic’s historic victory at the French Open secured his 23rd Grand Slam and as a result, he leapfrogged Rafael Nadal who was in the top spot for the most titles won.
Djokovic will now have his sights set on winning another at Wimbledon, but his absence from the preparatory tournaments leading up to the grass-court major led Murray to cheekily take a jab at the Serb.
He said: “I am happy for him, he deserves it. When he beat me in the final of the French Open, he lost motivation. So, maybe he can take his eye off the ball for the next few weeks heading into Wimbledon! But congratulations to him – it’s an incredible achievement.”
Murray’s victory at the Surbiton Trophy over the weekend was an ideal start to his preparations for Wimbledon and this week he is playing at the Nottingham Open, as he fights for a seeded spot.
He continued: “I know how difficult it is to win a Slam. So, for these guys to win 23, 22, and 20, it’s ridiculous. Sometimes I watch them playing matches and, I’m like, ‘Wow, I can’t believe I used to win and compete against them in the biggest matches in the biggest tournaments’.”
Murray feels some regret at injury denying him the chance to compete when he was at the peak of his career but revealed a text message from his wife Kim put things into perspective.
“Obviously I would love to be competing for grand slams and to be in that position, I am also aware that what they have done is incredible and what he is doing at his age is brilliant,” he said.
“We have completely different journeys and what happened with my hip when I was in the peak of my career was really unfortunate.
“But I got a message from my wife when I was driving up here saying she had seen Novak on the news that he won in Paris and said she was so proud that I was still grinding it out in Challengers and still working as hard as I ever have done and that means a lot to me.
“You can’t always compare yourself to other people and to people who are more successful than you. I probably learned that more as I got older.
“When I was in my mid-20s I would always get asked, ‘When are you going to win things, all these guys around you are always winning’, and I always wanted what they had.
“Once I started to accept that I shouldn’t be comparing myself against other people and I should just focus on my own journey and working as hard as I can to achieve the goals I want to, that’s all you can do and that’s what I’m doing.
“Whether I win another grand slam or winning Challengers is the peak for me now, I am OK with that because I am doing what I love to do.
“I was happy for Novak on Sunday and what he has achieved is incredible. When I look back, the fact I was winning my slams and Olympics against those players is brilliant and I’ll be very proud of that.”
