Monday 27 June 2016 07:17, UK
Novak Djokovic has warned his Wimbledon rivals that he has still not reached his full potential.
The world No 1 is a strong favourite to win a fourth Wimbledon title - after lifting the trophy at the All England Club for the last two years - which will take him closer to a historic calendar Grand Slam.
The Serb's victory over Andy Murray in the French Open final earlier this month brought him the only Grand Slam missing from his collection and if he can retain the Wimbledon and US Open titles he will become the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to complete a clean sweep of the four major prizes in one year.
Djokovic will start his Wimbledon campaign on Centre Court on Monday with a first-round tie against British wild card James Ward and he has delivered a warning to any of his rivals who think they can dethrone him.
"Obviously I'm at the peak of my career at the moment. I see still lots of room for improvement, things that I can work on," he said.
"That's something that encourages me. That's something that keeps me grounded in a way, gives me more reason to practise.
"I can certainly say I've been working hard to get consistency on all kinds of surfaces."
Chasing a calendar Grand Slam proved too much for women's No 1 Serena Williams to handle last year as she suffered a shock US Open semi-final defeat to Roberta Vinci, but Djokovic insists the pressure will not be a problem for him.
"Pressure is part of what we do. It's inevitable to face this kind of sensation as a top player," said the 29-year-old.
"But the more you get to face this kind of pressure and emotions, the better you are in coping with it and handling it.
"Of course, the situation this year is quite different from previous years because I'm coming in with a Roland Garros title for the first time.
"That gives me a lot of confidence prior to this event."
Djokovic has beaten Murray in 13 of their last 15 meetings, but he still named the world No 2, along with seven-time Wimbledon winner Roger Federer, as his main rivals.
"You always have the top players, the ones that were most dominant on the grand slams in the previous years that are always in contention for winning the trophy - Andy Murray, Roger (Federer) - first of all, because of their rankings, their history of playing, playing well, and winning this tournament, especially Roger for so many times," Djokovic said.
"Then you have Milos Raonic, who has been playing very well. He has a big serve, which is an obvious advantage on this surface that is quickest we have in sports."
Canadian Raonic now also has John McEnroe on his coaching team at Wimbledon, on an apparently one-off basis.
The list of contenders according to Djokovic does not stop there.
"You know, (Nick) Kyrgios is definitely one of the players that can go far," he added.
"I think it's pretty much an open field. But I think the beauty of all the grand slams and of this sport is that you always start from scratch and you always start from the same starting position as everybody else, fighting for the trophy equally as everybody else."
Although Djokovic skipped the Wimbledon warm-up events to wind down after his success in Paris, he is adamant his preparation has been good enough to avoid any early struggles on the grass.
"Winning Roland Garros was obviously one of the most memorable and beautiful moments of my career, but it took a lot out of me. I thought that it's more important for me to just rejuvenate and rest a little bit and then prepare for Wimbledon," he said.
"Even though I've been very blessed to win this tournament three times, I still feel that kind of excitement as though I'm coming in for the first time."
Djokovic also revealed at his pre-tournament news conference on Sunday that he has re-joined the 12-man ATP Players' Council, along with Andy Murray and Murray's brother Jamie, the world's top doubles player.
"I've been very flattered and humbled to be elected by my colleagues," said Djokovic.
"The way I see it is that I managed to gain trust from players, which is very important to me. I have been part of the Player Council for three years earlier in my career. I've been familiar with the way the system works.
"I'm hoping I can contribute to the evolution and to the betterment of our sport in every aspect."
