By Nate Williams
LONDON — Novak Djokovic claimed his fourth Wimbledon title with a resounding 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (7-3) triumph over South African eighth seed Kevin Anderson at the All England Club on Sunday.
With victory as the world No. 21, Djokovic becomes the lowest-ranked player to lift the trophy since Goran Ivanisevic in 2001 and will return to the top 10 in the ATP rankings for the first time since October 2017.
“I couldn’t pick (a) better place in the tennis world to peak and to make a comeback,” Djokovic said. “It’s really hard to compare this year’s victory and trophy with any of the other three because they’re all special.”
The 31-year-old Serbian raced through the first two sets in 72 minutes as Anderson faltered under pressure and fatigue after coming through three marathon matches to reach the final.
Anderson had five set points to force a fourth set at 6-5. But Djokovic saved them all and stormed to an unassailable lead in the tie-break to emerge victorious after two hours and 18 minutes of his fifth Wimbledon final.
Djokovic now has 13 Grand Slam titles to his name and his latest success completes a comeback mission he started in January when he endured a torrid time recovering from elbow surgery.
He dropped out of the top 10 for the first time in 11 years and has endured many trying times to fight his way back to the top.
“I did not expect to be back in the top shape already here in Wimbledon so quickly,” Djokovic said. “There is a part of me that always believes in my own abilities, what I possess. I believe I can have a good opportunity to fight for the trophy.”
Nonetheless, Djokovic was the heavy favorite entering his 22nd grand slam final, while Anderson, in his second major showpiece, was bidding to become the first South African to lift the Wimbledon trophy.
Anderson was beaten in straight sets by Rafael Nadal in the 2017 U.S. Open final and it looked like he was heading toward the same fate from the beginning against Djokovic.
Big-game nerves took hold of Anderson as a misfired forehand and a double-fault gave Djokovic a break in the opening game as the Serbian grabbed a 2-0 head start.
“I didn’t really find my form the way I wanted to,” said Anderson, who will enter the new rankings at a career-high No. 5 on Monday.
“I was definitely quite nervous starting out the match. Didn’t play great tennis in the beginning. I tried my best to keep at it but it obviously wasn’t meant to be.”
Anderson had served a tournament-record 214 aces going into Sunday’s contest, but his firepower was burnt out after an exhausting run to the final.
From the fourth round on Monday this week, Anderson had spent 14 hours and 19 minutes on court over three matches.
This includes his five-set dismissal of previous champion Roger Federer and his record-breaking six hours-and-36-minutes marathon with John Isner on Friday — the third-longest singles match in tennis history.
“Of course, my body didn’t feel great,” Anderson said. “I don’t think you’re going to expect it to feel great this deep into a tournament when you’ve played so much tennis.”
Djokovic also had a lengthy semifinal in a five-hours-and-16-minute slugfest with Nadal over two days, but he was clearly the fresher of the two finalists.
He wrapped up the first set with a double-break and Djokovic was afforded two more breaks by poor Anderson groundstrokes to sprint in front by two sets.
However, Djokovic was soon feeling the pressure of the occasion as he double-faulted on serve at 5-4 in the third, which opened up a first set point for Anderson.
Anderson wasted his opportunities as former world number one Djokovic deleted four more set points and escaped with a stinging serve to force a tie-break.
After lashing a forehand pass down the line, Djokovic built a 5-1 lead and, even though Anderson saved one match point with a smash winner at 6-3, the South African didn’t have the energy to produce another determined comeback.
Anderson conceded defeat with a tame forehand into the net for Djokovic to seal his 251st win in a grand slam match — the second-largest tally in the open era.
