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 The Serbian won his fifth Australian Open title on Sunday,
beating Andy Murray 7-6(5) 6-7(4) 6-3 6-0 but his thoughts turned to
family, rather than the trophy he had just won.
For Djokovic, the win was all the sweeter because it was his first
grand slam title since he and his wife Jelena celebrated the birth
of their first child last October.
"I think it has deeper meaning, a more intrinsic value now to my
life because I'm a father and a husband," he told a news conference.
"As my life progresses, there are circumstances, situations, events
that define these beautiful moments.
"Getting married and becoming a father in the last six months was
definitely something that gave me a new energy, something that I
never felt before. And right now everything has been going in such a
positive direction in my life.
"I'm so grateful for that so I try to live these moments with all my
heart."
Djokovic may have become a doting dad but the 27-year-old also
showed that he still has all his fighting instincts after surviving
a tough scrap with Briton Murray.
Djokovic was showing signs of fatigue in the third set after the
first two had taken more than two and a half hours to complete, and
later laughed off suggestions he was faking to throw Murray off his
game.
"I'm not going to talk bad things about him in the press or find any
excuses or something like this," Djokovic said.
"I wasn't cramping. I didn't call a timeout because I had no reason
to call it. I was just weak. I went through the physical crisis in
the matter of 20 minutes.
"I haven't felt that too many times in my career. But knowing in the
back of my mind that it was a similar situation two years ago in the
Australian Open final, 2013, where two sets went over two hours, it
was a similar battle.
"I felt that I had some physical edge over him in that match. That
was in the back of my mind. That was something that kept me going.
And obviously the importance of the moment, being in finals of a
grand slam. I didn't want to give up. I try never to give up."
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"KEEP BELIEVING"
Djokovic now has eight grand slams in total but the Australian Open
has been his most successful by far. He has also won Wimbledon twice
and the U.S. Open once.
The French Open is the only major to have eluded him and he was
reluctant to answer when asked if he would trade one of his wins in
Australia for a victory in Paris.
"I've had, thankfully many great moments on the court in grand
slams. I think every grand slam win is special in its own way. I
can't really compare," he said.
"This tournament by far has been my most successful tournament in my
life, in my career. I enjoy playing here, enjoy coming back.
"I strongly believe everything happens for a reason in life. I try
not to waste my energy thinking, 'what if, what if,' so forth.
"For a reason I've been playing so well here and winning five
titles, and for a reason I haven't won the French Open yet. I'll
keep pushing and keep working and keep believing I can make it, at
least once, until my career ends."
(Editing by Mark Meadows)
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