Novak Djokovic is "living his childhood dream" every time he steps out on Wimbledon's Centre Court, despite his straight-sets defeat to Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday.
Djokovic, who has played in each of the last six finals at All England Club, faced Alcaraz in a repeat of last year's championship match but fell to a 6-2 6-2 7-6 (7-4) defeat.
It was his 10th Wimbledon final overall, with this one even more impressive due to his recovery from a knee operation that he suffered at the French Open, which was also won by Alcaraz.
A win would have made Djokovic the most decorated player in grand slam history, and taken him level with Roger Federer's record of eight men's singles crowns at SW19.
And the 37-year-old chose to look on the bright side as he took in Centre Court after the match.
"I have to be very proud," Djokovic said.
"Obviously, it's a bit of a disappointment right now, but when I reflect on the last couple of weeks and the last four to five weeks and what I've been through, along with my team members and family, I'm very satisfied, because Wimbledon was always the childhood dream of mine, playing on the centre stage.
"I try to remind myself how surreal it is to be here, even if I've been blessed to be in 10 finals, every single time I step on Centre Court, it feels like the first time. I'm living my childhood dream."
Djokovic is a 24-time major champion and after a glittering career, he claimed he may end up moving into coaching for his children in the future... if they in fact do want to take up tennis.
"My kids, they now start to like tennis a little bit," he added with a smile over at his family.
"I don't know if I have the nerves to keep on going with a coaching career for my son. There are a lot of beautiful things other than tennis, but if you wish to pursue it, I'll be there for you.
"I want to say thanks to my whole team, physio, everyone, for sticking with me through good and bad times. We're the only ones who know what we've been through. Let's keep it going."
Berrettini dominates Halys to win second Swiss Open title
Matteo Berrettini earned his second Swiss Open title on Sunday with a commanding straight-sets victory over Quentin Halys.
It took just 59 minutes for the Italian to dispatch the qualifier 6-3 6-1 in Gstaad for his ninth ATP Tour title.
The players were evenly matched through the opening six games, but Berrettini got a vital break in the seventh to swing momentum in his favour just before play was suspended due to rain.
When play was resumed half an hour later, Berrettini, who was 5-3 up, wasted no time regaining control, winning the next six games in a row.
Halys stopped himself from being on the wrong end of a bagel scoreline as he held off the former world number six in the penultimate game, but all he did was hold off the inevitable.
Data Debrief: Berrettini reenters winner's circle
Berrettini lifted his second Tour title of the year, winning in Gstaad for the first time since 2018, having lost in his last final appearance in 2022.
He did not give Halys a sniff - he won nine games in a row to put himself out of reach, while also winning 33 of his 37 service points (89%) and getting four breaks.
Hamburg Open champion Zverev into another final with Martinez win
Alexander Zverev will have a chance to defend his Hamburg Open title against Arthur Fils after overcoming Pedro Martinez in the last four on Saturday.
Zverev needed one hour and 25 minutes on court to beat Martinez 6-2 6-4, ending a run that saw the Spaniard eliminate seeds Matteo Arnaldi and Francisco Cerundolo.
The home favourite earned his first break in the third service game and followed up with another in the seventh, also winning 92% of his first-serve points in the opener as Martinez failed to apply any sustained pressure.
Zverev broke again at the start of the second set before producing crucial holds in the second and seventh games, reaching his third straight clay-court final after also going all the way at the Masters 1000 in Rome and the French Open.
He will face Fils in the showpiece match after the Frenchman overcame Sebastian Baez by a 6-2 6-2 scoreline in just 67 minutes, reaching his first ATP 500 final.
Data Debrief: Zverev eyes Hamburg history
Zverev became just the second German to win the Hamburg title last year after Michael Stich in 1993, and he could now become the first to defend the trophy with Stich falling to Yevgeny Kafelnikov in the 1994 semi-finals.
Nadal forced to 'find a way to survive' to claim Ajdukovic win
Rafael Nadal insisted he was forced to "find a way to survive" to reach his first tour-level final since 2022 during his win over Duje Ajdukovic in Bastad.
Nadal continued his preparations for the Paris Olympics by coming from a set down to reach the final of the Swedish Open on Sunday.
The Spaniard will either play Thiago Agustin Tirante or Nuno Borges before travelling to France to try and claim a third gold medal at the games.
Nadal's last tour-level final came at Roland Garros two years ago, where this year's tennis will be taking place during the Paris Olympics.
Nadal's semi-final test came just a day after a gruelling four-hour win over Mariano Navone, the second-longest three-set match of his career.
The Spaniard was able to complete the victory in just two hours and 12 minutes, but insisted that Ajdukovic posed a difficult opponent on Centre Court.
“I think it was a tough match," Nadal said in his on-court interview. "My opponent had one of the best backhands that I played against.
"He came here with a lot of confidence. I think I was trying to push him back.
"It was very, very difficult, honestly, but I found a way to survive and be through to that final after a long time without being in a final. So that’s great news and I’m very happy with that.”
Nadal continues his Olympic Games preparation later on Saturday, with a doubles semi-final clash against Orlando Luz and Rafael Matos, alongside partner Casper Ruud.
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