Novak Djokovic's 2019 Wimbledon final against Roger Federer was one of the most incredible matches in tennis history, and the Serbian recently discussed winning it despite Federer playing better than him.
Rafael Nadal's retirement announcement has led to fans reliving the incredible matches he played against Djokovic and Federer, such as the 2008 Wimbledon final and 2012 Australian Open final.
Djokovic acknowledges that his rivalry with Nadal had a more significant impact on him than any other throughout his career. He played and defeated the Spaniard for almost certainly the last time before his retirement at the Six Kings Slam.
However, Djokovic also shared an epic rivalry against Federer. There used to be some animosity between the pair because the Swiss did not like how his younger opponent acted, but both men insisted that was no longer the case in their later matches.
Before their meeting in the 2019 Wimbledon final, Djokovic had beaten Federer in the 2014 and 2015 men's singles finals at SW19. Their five-set 2014 final was particularly exceptional, and Djokovic called it the most special and best-quality Grand Slam final of his career.
Although the 2019 final may not have been of quite the same quality as five years previously, it was one of the most dramatic contests ever seen on a tennis court, with many still wondering how Djokovic managed to win.
The Serbian did not break Federer's serve in the opening four sets but still managed to take the match to a fifth set, with the score locked at 7-6, 1-6, 7-6, 4-6 heading into the decider.
Victory for Federer seemed inevitable when he broke serve and then had two match points at 8-7, 40-15 up. But Djokovic launched one of the most staggering comebacks in tennis history to break for the first time and eventually prevail 7-6, 1-6, 7-6, 4-6, 13-12.
In an interview with La Nacion, Djokovic remembered that Federer won more points during the match and admitted that the Swiss legend played better tennis despite his agonizing loss in the final.
"Given the circumstances, it was one of the most important moments I experienced. As you said, I was two match points down and if you look at the match statistics, he played better than me. He won more points. I don’t think I ever broke his serve, except for that moment at the end of the fifth set."
Despite how well Federer was playing, Djokovic was confident that his physical strength would take him to victory until he was broken in the fifth set. He admitted he feared the worst at that stage but managed to stay calm.
"I knew that if I managed to hold serve and stick to some important basic things, in the long run, I was physically ready to play ten hours and I would end up winning."
"I always believed in that until he broke my serve in the fifth set. And when he served in the next game [8-7] I was like, 'Uh, this is going badly.' But I kept calm."
There have been many examples of Djokovic's incredible mental strength during his career, but winning the 2019 Wimbledon final from two match points down against Federer might be the most impressive of them all.