Djokovic rolls in title match vs. weary foe
look back at it and be kind of grateful, but I really am grateful to go through this kind of, so to say, mixed emotions, turbulences as well, mentally, moments of doubt and disappointment and frustration, anger.”
It is Djokovic’s 13th major trophy, the fourth-highest total in the history of men’s tennis, trailing Roger Federer’s 20, Rafael Nadal’s 17 and his childhood idol Pete Sampras’ 14.
But it’s also Djokovic’s first since he completed a career Grand Slam at the 2016 French Open.
“It was a long journey,” the 31-year-old from Serbia said. “I couldn’t pick a better place, to be honest, in the tennis world to peak and to make a comeback.”
Because he fell out of the top20 for the first time in more than a decade, the No. 21 Djokovic is the lowest-ranked Wimbledon titlist since Goran Ivanisevic in 2001.
On Sunday, under a pale blue sky interrupted by only the occasional soft white puff of cloud, Djokovic looked far more like a guy who used to be No.1.
“The first two sets,” said Anderson, who played college tennis at the University of Illinois, “Novak beat up on me pretty bad.”
Anderson could be excused for exhaustion. His semifinal was the second-longest Grand Slam match in history, lasting more than 6½ hours until he edged John Isner, 26-24, in the fifth set. And that followed another extended fifth set in his 13-11upset of eight-time 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 off-the-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 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.
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!’”