Djokovic back on top at Wimbledon
Novak Djokovic was disconsolate and injured when he left Wimbledon a year ago, quitting during his quarterfinal because of a painful right elbow that would need surgery.
Djokovic was so dispirited by his upset exit at the French Open last month that he vowed, in the heat of the moment, to skip the grass-court circuit. Good thing he didn’t stick to that because he’s back at his best and Wimbledon’s champion for the fourth time.
The Serbian star ended a grand slam drought that lasted more than two seasons with a straight sets win over a weary Kevin Anderson in the final yesterday. Djokovic held off a late challenge to win 6-2 6-2 7-6(3).
It is Djokovic’s 13th major trophy, the fourth-highest total in the history of men’s tennis, trailing only Roger Federer’s 20, Rafael Nadal’s 17 and Pete Sampras’ 14. But it’s also Djokovic’s first since he completed a career grand slam at the 2016 French Open.
During that time, he struggled with the first major injury of his professional career, that forced him off the tour for the last half of 2017. He eventually had an operation this February, and as his losses accumulated, his ranking fell out of the top 20 for the first time in more than a decade.
Under a pale blue sky interrupted by only the occasional soft white puff of cloud, with the temperature at 30 degrees Celsius, Djokovic started so well, and Anderson shakily. That might have been easy to anticipate beforehand.
This was, after all, the 22nd grand slam final for Djokovic, and the second for Anderson, a 2.03m powerful server who was the runner-up at last year’s US Open and was aiming to become the first South African man to win at Wimbledon.
Plus, Anderson could be excused for exhaustion. His semifinal was the second-longest grand slam match in history, lasting more than 61⁄2 hours until he edged John Isner 26-24 in the fifth set. And that followed another extended fifth set in his 13-11 upset of eight-time champion Federer in the quarterfinals.
So it was no wonder that, with all of that time on court, all of that stress on his racket-swinging arm, Anderson was visited by a trainer after yesterday’s opening set to get his right elbow massaged.
Anderson was so out of sorts, his strokes so off-the-mark, that Djokovic gathered eight of the first 10 games even though he only conjured up two winners. Anderson gifted him 15 unforced errors in that span.
By the end of a third consecutive dud of a straight-set men’s singles final at the All England Club, Anderson had made 32 unforced errors, and the steady Djokovic merely 13.
As much as Djokovic is known for his body-bending defence and unerring reads on opponents’ serves, he’s also someone who fills his matches with histrionics and exaggerated reactions, whether violently smacking the side of his shoe with his racket or tearing off his shirt to celebrate a victory.
This day was no different. Angered by fans making noise during points, he told the chair umpire to tell them to shut up, adding a colourful word in there. He pointed to his ear after winning one point, as if to say: ‘‘Who are you cheering for now?!’’ He blew a kiss toward the stands after another.
But when he broke Anderson for the second time in three service games at the outset, Djokovic simply shook a clenched fist while calmly looking at his guest box above the scoreboard. The bright yellow digits on there showed that Djokovic already led 4-1 after all of 18 minutes. Might as well have declared him the champion, right then and there.
It was so lopsided for the first hour-plus that spectators began pulling for Anderson. He surely appreciated the support. But it didn’t do a thing to alter the ultimate outcome, however.
When Anderson pushed a forehand return into the net to end it, Djokovic exhaled.
After they shook hands, Djokovic performed his ritual of bending down to grab a couple of blades of grass and plopping them in his mouth, savouring the triumph.