I want more grand slams, says bleary-eyed Djokovic

Novak Djokovic

MELBOURNE, (Reuters) – Novak Djokovic belted out  Serbian folk songs in an all-in party after clinching the  Australian Open, but shrugged off a poor night’s sleep to focus  on more glory on the clay-courts of Roland Garros.

Novak Djokovic

“We brought two Serbian guys who played our traditional  music for two hours … We went out of the changing room at 2  a.m. That’s all I remember,” said a glassy-eyed Djokovic of  celebrations at Melbourne Park after his stunning straight sets  victory over Briton Andy Murray. “I was carrying myself plus my bags and the trophy,” he told  a small group of reporters on Yesterday.

“I was handling myself under the circumstances quite good  … I could not really sleep because I was still under the great  impression of winning a title, so it was hard because of the  excitement.”

Wearing jeans and a T-shirt on a sweltering day, the lanky  23-year-old looked a little worse for wear as he sat next to the  Norman Brookes Challenge Cup at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
He perked up enough to gush about having hit his stride  after fighting years of doubt as a one-slam wonder since taking  his first title at Melbourne Park in 2008.

“It’s been a period of ups and downs for me the last three  years … I haven’t had that consistency and self-belief that  I’ve needed to.

“Right now and the last six months, I feel that I’ve reached  that stage that I believe that I can really win it.” “In last two months I’m probably playing the best tennis of  my life and I cannot ask for a better start to the season. To be  able to win the grand slam gives you a lot of confidence.”

Djokovic set up his title with a semi-final trouncing of  Roger Federer, and his domination of Murray has fuelled talk of  a new grand slam triumvirate, with the Serbian tipped to share  more of the grand slam spoils with the Swiss master and Spaniard  Rafa Nadal.

While flattered, the Belgrade-born baseliner said he still  needed to prove himself on all surfaces to feel comfortable  about the compliment.

“If the people want to call me a part of the big three, then  that’s great. I have big respect for Federer and Nadal, they are  great examples of champions on and off the court in every sense.

“If I want to become the best player in the world, I will  have to win more grand slams,” added Djokovic, who has never  surpassed the semi-finals at Roland Garros or Wimbledon.

“But yes, my goal you can say is (not only) to do well on  clay, but to do my best result on Roland Garros.”

After beating Murray under the floodlights at Rod Laver  Arena, Djokovic dedicated his victory to Serbia, drawing roars  of approval from rows of countrymen clad in red, white and blue  in the stands.  Djokovic, who led Serbia to an emotional victory in the  Davis Cup over France in December, grew up through the Balkan  wars that ravaged the country and said the bitter times  continued to spur him on as a player.

“We’ve been growing up through two wars. When you turn  around and analyse what you have been through, you appreciate  some things more in your life and you know what your values  are,” he said.

“Of course everybody loves their country. I don’t love my  country more than you love yours, but in my case it’s a more  special feeling because we’ve been through something different.

“So to be able to help those people who I know how much  they’ve suffered — and they still suffer because of some  problems — it’s our obligation in some way to give support and  present as best we can.”