Published on 12:00 AM, July 16, 2019

Djokovic ‘king of tennis’

Serbia’s Novak Djokovic (L) and Romania’s Simona Halep (R) pose with their respective Wimbledon trophies at the champions’ dinner in London on Sunday. Photo: AFP

The Serbian press on Monday proclaimed Novak Djokovic  “king of tennis” with the  “heart of a hero” after he claimed his fifth Wimbledon title beating eight-time champion Roger Federer.

The 32-year-old Serbian saved two match points as he took his Grand Slam tally to 16, four off Federer’s overall record in the longest final in the tournament’s history on Sunday.

“Novak, King of Tennis,” read the Blic daily paper front page headline.

“The fifth Crown for the King,” echoed the Vecernje Novosti paper.

“He certainly did not play his best tennis but he knew how to handle the key moments due to his main weapon, his mental strength,” Blic commented.

Djokovic, contrary to his habits,  “did not show any emotion during the whole match” which lasted 4 hours and 57 minutes, it said.

The Danas daily paper said the match offered the public  “all that can be seen in a perfect tennis match... suspense, drama and a happy ending ... for Djokovic”.

“One has to be honest and note that Federer played impeccably. Most of the time he was the better player on the court. Two missed match points are unbelievable. But, here, he missed them,” the paper said.

For the Informer tabloid Djokovic won  “against Federer and the public” cheering for the Swiss. The Politika daily paper said that  “all was against Djokovic” during Sunday’s match.

“It is with the heart of a hero that Djokovic won this final, one of the most dramatic,” in the tournament’s history, Politika concluded.