Novak Djokovic is back in the tennis Olympus after a three-set victory over Kevin Anderson in the Wimbledon final – and is especially pleased about a very special spectator.
London. For two days, the 2018 Wimbledon Tournament had recommended itself in endurance fights for the history books. It was the longest semi-final in tournament history, with the 50th match of the fifth set after 6:35 hours and 26:24 for Kevin Anderson and against John Isner (USA).
And then there was the second longest semi-final in Wimbledon’s rich history, going through Friday and Saturday, winning Novak Djokovic in a 5:48 hour match against his eternal rival Rafael Nadal, 10:8 in the fifth set.
And that was somehow enough with the marathons and the ultra-marathons: In any case, Djokovic, the reinvigorated “Djoker”, was crowned the lawn king for the fourth time on final Sunday in a low-tension final production lasting only 138 minutes, winning 6:2, 6:2 and 7:6 (7:3) against the tired and dull looking Anderson.
“I didn’t think I’d be the winner,” said Djokovic, who had fallen far into the world rankings in the last two years due to various crises. Djokovic had also had little fun in Wimbledon last year, when he had to give up the last sixteen match against Czech Tomas Berdych at a score of 6:7 and 0:2 due to an elbow injury.
Djokovic won his third Wimbledon title in 2015 alongside Boris Becker, then against Roger Federer.
The proudest fan and cheer of the victory was Djokovic’s four-year-old son Stefan, who was brought into the box of honour by a supervisor after the match – he was not allowed to follow the match himself, which is only allowed for at least five-year-olds.
“For the first time, on the Centre Court, calling Daddy, Daddy,” said Djokovic, moved by his first interview on the main square of the All England Club, “I’m glad I found my way back into the track. The decisive factor for this victory, for the whole upward development, was that I consistently trust myself again.”
Djokovic had also had to take longer forced breaks due to his injury problems, he had also tackled this comeback mission on Church Road only from twelfth place in the seed list and 21st place in the world rankings. Now, after his fourth triumph at the most important industry meeting, he will return to the top ten – exactly tenth place.
The final suffered from the rather dubious record flood of the previous days, from the endless games that had robbed Anderson in particular of the strength to vigorously resist.
Until the march to the Centre Court to meet Djokovic he had been standing on the green tennis courts for 21 hours, it was simply too much, as it quickly turned out in the final.
In the two opening sets, Djokovic was far superior to the first South African to reach a Wimbledon final in the modern era of the sport. Twice it was 6-2, it was hardly imaginable that Anderson would still be able to free himself from this plight.
But then he got going after all, when everyone had already expected another rebound for him in the third set. He was even the better man in this round, Djokovic later admitted without any problems. But after he had not used five break and set balls in several service games of the Serbian, he was then again without a chance in the tiebreak.
“I would have liked to have written a fourth or even a fifth sentence. It took too long for me to find my rhythm,” Anderson said later, “but I’m very pleased with the way I played this tournament.
“These were the best days I had as a tennis player.” Only this guest performance on Church Road did not end on the throne, as King of Wimbledon. His name is Novak Djokovic again, and that was quite a surprise.