Former world number 1 Novak Djokovic captured his first Grand Slam title in two years, grabbing the Wimbledon crown on Sunday following a 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (3) triumph over eighth seed South African Kevin Anderson.
Djokovic needed just two hours and 18 minutes to beat Anderson and claim his fifth grass-court title and 69th trophy of his career. The win gave Djokovic his fourth career Wimbledon crown, which he also won in 2011, 2014, and 2015.
Djokovic now has 13 major titles to his name, moving him to fourth place in the all-time Grand Slam list, trailing Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Pete Sampras. Federer, Nadal, and Sampras have 20, 17, and 14 Grand Slam titles, respectively. Federer was eliminated by Anderson in the quarterfinals, while Nadal was beaten by Djokovic in the semifinal.
Djokovic Will Return To Top 10
Djokovic became the lowest-ranked man to win the Wimbledon crown since number 125-ranked wild card Goran Ivanisevic in 2001. The win will vault Djokovic to number 10 in the ATP Rankings for the first since Oct. 30, 2017.
"I did not expect to be back in the top shape already here in Wimbledon so quickly," says Djokovic, who withdrew in the quarterfinals here last year with a right elbow injury. The elbow injury resulted in a six-month layoff for Djokovic, who returned to active competition in January of this year.
In his return, Djokovic slowly recovered the form that made him number 1, reaching the semifinal of the Internazionali BNL d'Italia and the finals of the Fever-Tree Championships.
"If you asked me after Roland Garros, I would probably maybe doubt that. At the same time there is a part of me that always believes in my own abilities, believes in my own quality of tennis," said Djokovic.
In his first major final appearance since September 2016, Djokovic tallied 20 winners and committed 13 unforced errors to improve his head-to-head record against Anderson to 6-1.
Anderson To Rise To Top 5
Despite the loss, Anderson will barge into the top 5 of the ATP rankings as number 4, a career best for the South African.
"I definitely believe I have the game to win these tournaments," says Anderson, who went through the proverbial eye of the needle in the semifinal as he needed more than 6.5 hours to defeat John Isner.
"If you asked me this time a year ago, I don't think I could sit here and say I really believe that I can win a Grand Slam and say it with the same self-belief and confidence that I can now," added Anderson, who lost to Nadal in last year's U.S. Open final.
Photo: Christian Mesiano | Flickr
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