Nadal prepares to bide his time in attempt to dethrone Djokovic

Djokovic took his rightful place at the head of men’s tennis yesterday after defeating Nadal 6-4 6-1 1-6 6-3 to clinch his first Wimbledon title.

It capped a dream seven months for the Serb, which began with a first Davis Cup triumph in December and also included the Australian Open and four Masters Series titles.

Djokovic has won 50 of his last 51 matches, losing only to Roger Federer in the semi-finals of the French Open, and Sunday’s victory was his fifth of the season against Nadal.

The Spaniard knows exactly how his rival is feeling after his stunning year in 2010, where he won three successive grand slams, completing his set with a US Open final triumph over Djokovic last September.

Nadal said: “He’s in the best moment of his career. I am in one of the best moments of my career. But still not enough for him. I have to play longer. I have to play more aggressive. I have to have less mistakes. Yes, that’s what I have to do.

“I lost because I was playing against the best player of the moment, and I am the second. When you play against these players and they are playing unbelievable, the normal thing is to lose. That’s what happened the last few times.

“My experience says this level is not forever. Even for me, when I was last year winning three grand slams, my level of last year was not forever. Probably the level of Novak is not forever. I’m going to be here fighting all the time, waiting for my moment.”

Djokovic has had to wait for his moment to break the duopoly of Nadal and Federer, who prior to this season had won 21 of the previous 23 grand slam titles.

Djokovic, with his Australian Open victory of 2008, and 2009 US Open champion Juan Martin Del Potro were the only other men to prevail, but it was a challenge that made the Serb the player and the competitor that he is today. He said: “I always believed that I had the quality to beat those two guys. I always believed I had the quality to win grand slams, and that was the only way I could be here in this position.

“I have full respect for those two guys, what they have done. Any time I play them, it’s a great match. But the mental approach has to be positive – I have to win this match. There’s no other way.”