Novak Djokovic had no trouble winning his fourth Wimbledon championship Sunday, easily dispatching South Africa’s Kevin Anderson in a match that lasted just over two hours.
Djokovic, of Serbia, beat Anderson in three sets, 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (3). The victory came two years after his previous Wimbledon win, and seven years after his first in 2011. He also won in 2014 and 2015.
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“There is no better place in the world to really be making a comeback,” Djokovic, 31, told the media, reports ESPN. “This is a sacred place for the world of tennis.”
The title match was anticlimactic after both Anderson and Djokovic won the longest semifinal matches in Wimbledon history. The finale was two days after Anderson’s marathon 6 and a half-hour match against John Isner. On Saturday, Djokovic’s match against Rafael Nadal lasted 5 hours, 15 minutes.
The victory sealed a sweet comeback for Djokovic, who had not won a major title since the 2016 French Open. He needed surgery on his right elbow last year and he fell out of the top 20 world ranking for the first time since 2006, reports BBC Sports.
What made the win more special was having his son Stefan, 3, nearby to celebrate. Although Stefan is too young to watch his father’s match, Djokovic’s wife Jelena Ristic made sure Stefan could see his father raise the Wimbledon trophy.
“It feels amazing because for the first time in my life I have someone screaming ‘daddy, daddy’ and it’s a little boy right there. I didn’t talk about it, but it was one of โ if not the biggest โ motivation I’ve had for this Wimbledon this year,” Djokovic said after the match, reports The Guardian. “I was visualising, imagining this moment of him coming to the stands, cherishing this moment with my wife and me and everyone. It’s hard to describe. It is a moment that I will carry inside of my heart forever.”
As for Anderson, he admitted he struggled to get into a groove after the gruelling match on Friday. He has a 1-6 career record against Djokovic.
“What separates the top guys with the guys further down, is not necessarily just their raw abilities, but it’s their ability to play their best tennis in these sort of matches. I wasn’t able to do that in the beginning. He was,” Anderson said, reports The Guardian. “I definitely had more opportunities than he did in the third set. I didn’t face any breakpoints. I had five set points. With a couple of them … I was almost starting to celebrate, but they [Djokovic’s returns] managed to land in.”
Djokovic has 13 Grand Slam titles and a bronze Olympic medal from the 2008 Summer Olympics.
On Saturday, the women’s singles Wimbledon title went to German Angelique Kerber, who beat Serena Williams. Americans Mike Bryan and Jack Sock won the men’s doubles title, while Czech players Barbora Krejฤรญkovรก and Kateลina Siniakovรก won the women’s doubles title.
Photo credit: Chaz Niell/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
