"You can do it, believe in yourself; forget everything that has happened, let’s go, champ" - Novak Djokovic reveals the exact words he told himself during Jannik Sinner comeback in Wimbledon QF

Novak Djokovic played yet another exhilarating match against 10th seed Jannik Sinner in the quarterfinals of Wimbledon. The Serb was down two-sets-to-love and mounted yet another comeback in the second week of a Slam against a 'Next-Gen' opponent.

The Italian, who was winless on grasscourt prior to entering the Championships this year, had Djokovic's number as he trampled the Serb in the opening two sets. The 20-time Grand Slam champion took a toilet break at the end of the third set and composed himself before heading out on the court again.

The break proved to be vital and Djokovic said that he gave himself a pep talk, found the "right and positive affirmations" and revealed what he told himself before scripting yet another miraculous comeback.

“It was just a pep talk, positive talk”, Novak Djokovic stated. “As negative and down you feel on yourself in those moments, even though as fake as it looks or sounds to you, it really gives you an effect and support if you are trying to find the right and positive affirmations and tell it to yourself and kind of reanimate yourself in a way.”

Yes, it was difficult for me to reproduce it in English, as I was speaking to myself in Serbian, of course,” Djokovic said. “Here we go. You can do it. Believe in yourself. Now is the time, forget everything that has happened. New match starts now. Let’s go, champ.”

The Serb said that he had belief in himself that he could come back from the brink of defeat and referenced his win against Stefanos Tsitsipas in the French Open final last year, adding that it's not always guaranteed to work.

“So that’s what I have done. I’ve done that after I lost two sets in the finals of Roland Garros against Tsitsipas, and today it worked. It doesn’t always work. It’s not a guarantee it will always work,” he added.

The World No. 3 will take on ninth-seeded Cameron Norrie for a spot in an eighth SW19 final. Norrie got past David Goffin in a tough five-setter to reach his first Major semifinal, becoming only the fourth Brit male to reach the last four at Wimbledon.

---

"I have always loved and respected Kobe Bryant a lot, him and his famous mamba mentality" - Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic at the Championships - Wimbledon 2022

Novak Djokovic gave more context to how he pulled off the comeback against Sinner and referenced his good friend Kobe Bryant and his famous "Mamba mentality".

The Serb said that Bryant spoke about how all sports see athletes having to convince themselves that they can and must do better to dig themselves out of a hole.

“There is not a lot of time at that point…I have always loved and respected Kobe Bryant a lot, him and his famous mamba mentality. He often spoke about these things – one thing that all sports have in common is that moment in which you have to convince yourself that you can and that you must do better; to stay positive and to dig yourself out of a hole,” Novak Djokovic said.

Speaking about the influence of mental strength in an individual sport like tennis, Djokovic cited the quote "fake it till you make it," adding that his words to himself during the pep talk felt unnatural. Regardless, the 35-year-old believed in the meaning and strength of those words and clawed his way back to victory.

“That is probably even more important in individual sports. There is a saying in English that goes ‘fake it till you make it’. When I looked at myself in the mirror saying those things, it did seem unnatural, but I knew that those words have their own strength, vibration and that it can pay off," he added.