Djokovic Hosts Charity Dinner in London
Stars from the worlds of sport and celebrity turned out for a Novak Djokovic Foundation event in London on Monday (July 8).
Just one day after Djokovic lost the Wimbledon men's singles final to Andy Murray, the Serb was in good spirits as he hosted the event raising money f or underprivileged children in Serbia.
"I tried my best (against Murray)," Djokovic said. "I didn't play as well as I wanted but it's the way it is; it's sport. You cannot win all the matches, it cannot always be your day and I just have positive memories from yesterday's final."
Djokovic went on to explain why he set up the foundation.
"It was almost impossible for me to succeed and become the best tennis player in the world and to be where I am to travel around the world and different places...many kids in Serbia don't have this opportunity, aren't fortunate enough because you need luck in life, you need big support from your family especially and this is where we step in as a foundation and we are very honoured to be having this opportunity to help," he said.
Marion Bartoli, the Wimbledon women's singles champion, attended the event and the French player was still enjoying every moment having claimed her first grand slam title.
"It has been crazy but amazing. I've enjoyed every moment of it. It's an amazing feeling to wake as an Olympic champion honestly."
Bartoli was just as happy for Murray who became the first Briton to win the men's title since Fred Perry in 1936.
"I'm very happy for myself. It's a huge achievement to be a Wimbledon champion, you will stay forever," she said. "I'm kind of feeling a bit apart of history now and it's just an amazing feeling to have this trophy in my hands. We had an amazing time as well yesterday with Andy, we are sharing this moment.
"The British have been waiting for a long time for a British champion. I mean the first one winning playing two handed on both sides so. But at the end of the day we are just tennis players to play the best as we can and obviously we have been very lucky to achieve our dream."
Richard Branson, the founder and chairman of Virgin Group, is a friend of Djokovic and said he was in a minority of Britons who supported the Serb.
"Well it was embarrassing because I'm a great friend of Novak and I know him better than Andy so I had a little bit of money on Novak so I must have been the only Brit who did," he said.
British actor Gerard Butler, a proud Scotsman, was invited to watch the final by Djokovic but the Hollywood star admitted he was only supporting one player.
"Yesterday was a weird day for me because he (Djokovic) had invited me and said 'I have tickets for you if you want', I said 'I can't come with your tickets. Look you're my buddy but I'm supporting Murray'," Butler said.
It capped off a memorable weekend for British sport after the British and Irish Lions beat Australia to win their first series since 1997.
Chairs of the Novak Djokovic Foundation such as British model Naomi Campbell, American actress Goldie Hawn and former German tennis player Boris Becker were also at the event.
Presented by Adam Justice