Novak Djokovic wins Wimbledon by turning Kevin Anderson’s greatest weapon against him

The drama culminated in Sunday’s final where the stage was set for Novak Djokovic to crown his comeback with his first Grand Slam win since the 2016 French Open. After failing in the final hurdle of US Open last year, the 32-year-old will be determined to finish on the top step of the podium.

Anderson was playing just his second Grand Slam final having lost to Roger Federer at the US Open last September and did extremely well to make the final of Wimbledon.

“It’s very special. It really could have gone either way”.

‘Over the whole fortnight, I just tried my best to keep at it.

“It’s hard to pick the words”, said Djokovic, who has won his past eight five-setters at Wimbledon. With England performing better than anyone expected them to, discussions about whether Wimbledon should reschedule their men’s singles final began as early as June, shortly after England’s 6-1 mauling of Panama.

But it was Djokovic who tended to be better down the stretch in his 52nd career meeting against Nadal in a contest that seemed as if it should be worth a trophy.

Having dropped to his lowest ranking since 2006 and without a title of any description this year – the world number 21 entered Wimbledon in the unusual position of being an outsider.

Djokovic also had to focus on rest and recuperation following his stunning match against Nadal, more than two hours of which were played on Saturday after the 11pm curfew cut them off on Friday night.

Anderson put up a stronger resistance in the third and final set and took it to a tie-break, but it was never enough to trouble Djokovic who conceded just three points thereafter.

His elbow needed treatment, his legs, which he described as like jelly after the Isner epic, would not move properly and his thinking was fuzzy as errors flowed.

This is Djokovic’s 13 major title.

Djokovic broke serve twice in each of the opening two sets, dismantling 6ft 8in Anderson’s service game and grinding him down in the rallies.

But by now, it was apparent that Anderson was loosening up, getting back into the groove, and rediscovering some of his mojo.

And one more: Djokovic saved all seven break points he faced, including five that would have given Anderson the third set.

“I’m not surprised that he’s been able to come back”, Anderson said.

Djokovic also came through a five-set match – against Rafael Nadal – to reach the final and has shown no signs of fatigue.

The excitable Wimbledon crowd were hoping for a match compared to the legendary battles of yesteryear, but at points got a bit carried away.