JAMIE CAN’T DOUBLE UP MIXED TITLE
SERB REGAINS HIS CROWN KEITH JACKSON at SW19
KEVIN ANDERSON had waited all his life for this moment but he must have left Centre Court yesterday wondering why he had bothered. As if it wasn’t bad enough that, when he finally got here, the 32-year-old was confronted by one of the greatest players of all time. This wasn’t just any opponent standing in his way. This was Novak Djokovic. With a point to prove. But, to make matters even more excruciating, Anderson also developed a nasty case of tennis elbow just when he needed his enormous pistons to be in immaculate condition and firing on all cylinders.
As a result, this final soon became a mismatch with Djokovic going after his destiny relentlessly and devoid of mercy. He took the first two sets in just one hour and 12 minutes with the loss of only four games.
In short, this was a butchering so savage it almost became hard to watch. Anderson’s plight won him the pity of the crowd but precious little else.
He did put up more of a spirited fight in the third set to take Djokovic all the way to a tie-break but by then the South African was thrashing around in the last-chance saloon. His fate pretty much decided as, ultimately, he went down in straight sets with Djokovic winning 6-2 6-2 7-6 (7-3) in two hours and 19 minutes.
All of which seemed like an unnecessarily long time given that this final was only moving in Djokovic’s direction right from the outset.
When Anderson’s booming serve was defused by Djokovic in the first game of the match, it was an ominous sign of what was to follow. Before long Djokovic was racing off into the distance and Anderson was requiring running repairs to the stiffening joint in his right arm which had taken more wear and tear than it could handle.
Before he arrived here a fortnight ago, Anderson’s best run at a Grand Slam came last year in New York when he was wiped out by Rafa Nadal in the Final of the US Open.
But never before had he made it beyond the fourth round on these lawns. This then was uncharted territory for the 6ft 8in giant. Not so for the man standing peering at him from the other side of the net. Six Australian Opens, one title on French clay at Roland Garros, two US Opens and a three-time Wimbledon winner, Djokovic has won the lot.
But nothing since 2016 when he began to tumble into an inexplicably steep decline. That he was only seeded 12th before the first thwack of ball on string on the lawns of the All England Club is a reminder of how far he has fallen from his peak.
But these championships appear to have brought the old Djokovic back. A little more mean and moody than before perhaps. Maybe even a man with a chip on his shoulder and most certainly one with a point to prove.
And now here he was, back on the same court where he was angrily goading the crowd during his third-round victory over British No.1 Kyle Edmund.
Djokovic appears to be perfectly at ease with playing the pantomime villain. One way or another, he was not prepared to leave this place without another trophy tucked under his arm.
Having fought with such stoicism to get here in that five-set semi-final blockbuster against Rafa Nadal – which was for everyone else the final before the final – he most certainly didn’t intend to be denied now by a relative journeyman such as Anderson. And yet this tower block of a man caused the upset of the tournament when he hammered Roger Federer off No.1 Court in the quarters before his semi-final slugfest with John Isner almost bored Wimbledon into submission on Friday night.
After having his serve broken in the first game of the first set, Anderson was in all manner of trouble again in the fourth.
At 0-30 he needed a second-serve ace to keep Djokovic at bay but when he dumped a forehand into the net the Serb had carved out another two break points.
With Djokovic swarming all over him once more Anderson found the net again with a desperate attempted volley and the set was gone already.
He did thump down another crunching ace to hold his next service game and when he did the Centre Court crowd afforded him a sympathetic cheer. But Djokovic was in ruthless mode now. He served it out to take the set 6-2 and send him on his way.
The second set was a similar story and it ended with an identical scoreline. Over the course of both, Anderson had managed just three aces and won only four games.
It was not until the third set began – and he was staring defeat in the face – that his racquet strings finally began to smoke.
Although he forced a total of five set points out of Djokovic, the former champion held his nerve and his serve to take it to a tie-break.
In a flash, the Serb was racing into an unassailable lead on his way to a fourth Wimbledon crown. He’s back at the very summit of the game – and this time he may be in no rush to leave. JAMIE MURRAY was denied back-to-back Wimbledon mixed doubles title after he and Victoria Azarenka lost a hardfought Centre Court final.
The Scot and his new partner were beaten 7-6 (7-1) 6-3 by Austrian Alexander Peya and American Nicole Melichar.
Murray, who won 12 months ago with Martina Hingis, had not initially planned to play in this year’s event, instead deciding to focus on the men’s doubles.
But when the chance to partner Belarusian former world No.1 Azarenka arose, Murray jumped at the opportunity.
They found themselves under severe pressure in the first set, eventually holding serve in a marathon seven-deuce game for a 4-3 lead.
They managed to force a tie-break but the 11th seeds swept through it to take the lead.
Murray and Azarenka had fought back from a set down twice before to reach the Final but could not mount another comeback.
Murray said: “It’s disappointing. But they played well, very solid.
“But it’s been awesome. We earned it, getting to the Final, we played a lot of tennis. It was a lot of fun to play with Vika, she’s a great player and a great champion.
“I had a great time. Overall we’ve got to be pleased with how it went.”
Azarenka, who lost to BY TED TRACEY Karolina Pliskova in the second round of the singles, added: “It’s been a great two weeks. We just came up a little short. I would love to play with Jamie again.”
Melichar, runner-up in the women’s doubles, said: “It’s a dream just to play here. But to win here, it’s amazing.”
After finally lifting a Grand Slam trophy at the age of 38, Peya added: “Wimbledon was always a cornerstone for me, playing in the garden with my brother. So to sit here now and be Wimbledon champion feels amazing.” Men’s singles Novak Djokovic (Ser) Women’s singles Angelique Kerber (Ger) Men’s doubles Mike Bryan (USA) and Jack Sock (USA) Women’s doubles Barbora Krejcikova (Cze) and Katerina Siniakova (Cze) Mixed doubles Alexander Peya (Aut) and Nicole Melichar (USA) Boys singles Tseng Chun-hsin (Tai) Girls singles Iga Swiatek (Pol) Boys doubles Otto Virtanen (Fin) and Yanki Erel (Tur) Girls doubles Xinyu Wang (Chn) and Xiyu Wang (Chn) Men’s wheelchair singles Stefan Olsson (Swe) Women’s wheelchair singles Diede De Groot (Ned) Men’s wheelchair doubles Alfie Hewett (Gbr) and Gordon Reid (Gbr) Women’s wheelchair doubles Diede De Groot (Ned) and Yui Kamiji (Jpn)