Novak Djokovic is well aware of the sharks circling around him, but he demonstrated his confidence with a statement after his win over Andrey Rublev at Wimbledon.
After overcoming a tricky matchup against Hubert Hurkacz in the 4th round, Novak Djokovic did the same thing in the quarter-final. He faced a very stern challenge from Andrey Rublev but he remained calm and won the match in four sets.
After the match, Djokovic talked about the pressure he has as the defending champion to produce a solid effort and avoid losing early at the event. He referenced the famous quote from Billie Jean King in his post-match interview.
Any tennis player wants to be in a position where everyone wants to win against you. It is a privilege as Billie Jean King said. Pressure is a part of our sport, it's never going to away regardless of how many Grand Slams you win.
There are plenty of challengers, though, players who would want to beat Djokovic, but the Serbian warned that it's not going to come easy. Players like Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner certainly fancy themselves, and both might get the chance to back it up on the court.
Sinner is the next challenger, as we'll see the rematch at SW19. They played a great one last year, but ultimately the Italian didn't prove to be good enough. If he doesn't again, then it might come down to Carlos Alcaraz, who proudly proclaimed a few days ago that he wants to win the event. Well, Djokovic sent him and the rest of the field a warning.
I know they want to get a scalp, they want to win but it ain't happening still.
After a wave of applause and laughter, Djokovic simply added Very humble. Very humble indeed but he's backed it up many times so he can afford to be humble this way.