Quite apart from his caricature as a primal aggressor who terrorises ballgirls, he has been a study in gentleness off the court at this year’s Wimbledon, even taking time to sign one man’s prosthetic leg. He extends the same generosity to journalists, marking his end-of-season press conferences by handing out free chocolates. The unfair reality is that he still labours in the shadow of players he has long since usurped. Against Federer here, he was cast from the outset as the anti-hero, the alternative champion. The logic is perverse. For Djokovic, over halfway to Federer’s 17 majors at the age of 28, is dominating his sport to an extent that he could soon be the most decorated of them all.