No doubt: Djokovic wins 4th Wimbledon
6½ 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 eighttime champion Federer in the quarterfinals. Anderson also blamed some nerves. This was, after all, the 22nd Grand Slam final for Djokovic, and the second for Anderson, the runner-up at last year’s U.S. Open and aiming to become the first South African man to win Wimbledon.
He was so out of sorts, his strokes so offthe-mark, that Djokovic gathered eight of the first 10 games even though he only conjured up two winners. No need for more, because Anderson gifted him 15 unforced errors in that span.
“I didn’t really find my form the way I wanted to,” said Anderson, whose right elbow was massaged by a trainer after the first set. “Of course, my body didn’t feel great.”
It was so lopsided for the first hour-plus that spectators began pulling for Anderson, likely in the hopes of getting more tennis for their tickets, which carried a face value of 210 pounds (about $275).
Somehow, Anderson raised his game late and nearly managed to extend the match, five times standing just a point away from forcing a fourth set.
Djokovic held steady on each one, then was as superior in the tiebreaker as he was most of the afternoon.
“You can definitely see the improvements he’s made since coming back from injury,” Anderson said.
By the end, Djokovic’s new serve had saved all seven break points he faced. His groundstrokes were a big reason he only made 13 unforced errors, while Anderson had 32.
When Anderson pushed a forehand return into the net to end it, Djokovic exhaled. After they shook hands, Djokovic performed his personal ritual of bending down to grab a couple of blades of grass and plopping them in his mouth, savoring the triumph.
He did the same after his Wimbledon titles in 2011, 2014 and 2015. One key difference on this day was the presence of two special guests: The doctor who performed the elbow surgery and Djokovic’s 3-year-old son, Stefan, who was in the stands for the trophy presentation.
Later, they met in a hallway, and Djokovic knelt down to hug his child.
“It feels amazing,” Djokovic said, “because for the first time in my life, I have someone screaming ‘Daddy! Daddy!’ ”
As much as Djokovic is known for his body-bending defense 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 — as he did against Nadal in their thrilling five-set semifinal that began Friday and ended Saturday — 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, throwing a colorful word into the demand. 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.