Djokovic inspired by defeat

Novak Djokovic expects to get over the disappointment of his agonising French Open exit in time to play his best tennis at Wimbledon.

The world number one had targeted victory at Roland Garros, the only grand slam tournament he has not yet won, as the main objective of his season.

The death of his childhood coach and mentor, Jelena Gencic, last weekend only served to heighten that motivation as he vowed to try to win it in her memory.

At 4-2 up in the deciding set of yesterday’s epic semi-final against Rafael Nadal, it looked like Djokovic would become only the second player to beat the great Spaniard at the tournament he has made his own.

But Nadal’s mental fortitude is unmatched and he responded to win 6-4 3-6 6-1 6-7 (3/7) 9-7 in four hours and 37 minutes and will face compatriot David Ferrer tomorrow bidding for an unprecedented eighth title.

Last year Djokovic got within one match of holding all four grand slam trophies before losing to Nadal in the final here, and he was below his best as he went out in the semi-finals at Wimbledon before finishing fourth at the Olympics.

The Serb’s eyes reddened as he talked about where he goes from here, saying: “It’s not the first, it’s not the last loss in my career, and against this particular player.

“I lost the match after five hours. I wanted this title so much, so I am disappointed. That’s it.

“I don’t think it’s going to take a toll on me in the future because I have been in these particular situations before.

“So hopefully I can use this next period that is coming up to recover and mentally get motivated and get inspired again to play my best tennis at Wimbledon.”

Djokovic first played the French Open in 2005, the year of Nadal’s first victory, and he will return to Paris next year as determined as ever to add the title to his CV.

“Nothing comes easy to you, you’ve got to earn it,” he said.

“It’s not the end of the world. Of course the feeling is not great at the moment, but I still feel I have years in front of me.

“So I will come back to Paris and I will keep on trying to win it.

“I believe I’m at the peak of my career and playing really good tennis, so I don’t see a reason why I should really think about anything else but to continue on working hard and fighting.”

Fourth seed Ferrer, who has not dropped a set all tournament, beat home favourite Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to reach his first grand slam final.

Later today, Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova face each in the women’s final, with the American looking to add a second French Open title 11 years after her first against an opponent she has not lost to in nine years.