Rafael Nadal insists he will not be distracted by the pursuit of Grand Slam history or the loss of his world number one spot to Novak Djokovic when he takes on the red-hot Serb in Sunday’s Wimbledon final. Defending champion Nadal, on a 20-match winning streak at the All England Club, is adamant the prospect of a third Wimbledon title is the only statistic that occupies his mind.
Nadal, the champion in 2008 and 2010, will be appearing in his fifth Wimbledon final while Australian Open winner Djokovic will be making his debut in the title match. The odds are stacked in the top seed’s favour, but the Spaniard believes that even victory will not necessarily mean he is destined to overhaul Roger Federer’s record of 16 Grand Slam titles. “The number 16? I think about the number 10. That’s what I have at home.
I don’t have 11, I don’t have 12, I don’t have 15, or 16… 16 is very far,” said Nadal. “I believe the number is not going to stop there. Roger will have chances to win more. Seriously, this is not my goal. I am very happy about my 10. “The career of Roger is probably impossible to repeat. If you look at the history of tennis, he’s the player with more Grand Slams in I don’t know how many years of history of the tennis, 100, 125 years?” Nadal, still only 25, also shrugged off the loss of his world number one ranking to Djokovic, whose march to the top has been driven by a record of 49 wins in his last 50 matches.
