• Wimbledon

Djokovic not dwelling on French failure

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Novak Djokovic insists he has put the disappointment of missing out on a career Grand Slam firmly behind him as he begins the defence of his Wimbledon title.

Just a fortnight after his defeat to Rafael Nadal at the French Open, where he had the chance to become the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to hold all four majors, Djokovic insists he had plenty of positives to take from Roland Garros.

"It's behind me now," he said. "Yes, I was so close, and there was a slight disappointment after the match because I was aware of the chance that I had at Roland Garros.

"But the day after I felt good about my tournament, about my achievement in Paris. It was the first time I had been in the finals of Roland Garros.

"That's a step further from all these years that I've been playing in Paris. That's something that made me satisfied. I'm still only 25, so I believe that I have a lot more years and a lot more chances to win Roland Garros."

As defending champion Djokovic has the honour of opening proceedings on Centre Court on Monday, when he takes on Juan Carlos Ferrero in a tricky first-round clash. The Serb, who opted to swerve the traditional warm-up events at Queen's, Halle, and Eastbourne, believes an extra week between the end of the French Open and the start of Wimbledon would benefit the players.

"There have been talks," said Djokovic, who has not played a competitive match since his defeat to Nadal. "The bottom line is that we are all trying to work for the good of the sport. The players, the officials, tournaments, everybody who is involved in tennis, we all love this sport and all try to make it better for everybody.

"We've had this schedule forever, I think. My personal opinion is that it is too short. We need an extra week, because it would give especially the top players a little bit more time to get used to the surface."

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