Novak Djokovic wins his fourth Wimbledon championship, beating Kevin Anderson 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (3) in the final

LONDON (AP) — Novak Djokovic wins his fourth Wimbledon championship, beating Kevin Anderson 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (3) in the final. </s> Kevin Anderson will play Novak Djokovic in Sunday’s Wimbledon men’s final after he outlasted Rafael Nadal in yet another epic semifinal.

The Serbian eventually triumphed in just over five hours 6-4 3-6 7-6 3-6 and 10-8.

South Africa’s leading player will feel a bit more confident now that his opponent has also been worn down physically.

Djokovic and Nadal had to resume their game in the fourth set on Saturday afternoon after they ran out of time on Friday evening.

Anderson will be wary of a fairly poor record against Djokovic, having only beaten him once – way back in 2008 in Miami.

For more sport your way, download The Citizen’s app for and . </s> Novak Djokovic won the Wimbledon men's singles title for the fourth time on Sunday, defeating South African's Kevin Anderson.

It wasn't a short championship for either competitor – on Friday in the semi-finals Kevin Anderson and John Isner played a remarkable six and a half hour match. That marathon match, in turn, forced Djokovic to play Rafael Nadal over the course of two days, and delayed the women's finals.

Anderson spent a total of 21 hours on the court prior to Sunday's finals, and said in a post-match interview he would have given "another 21 hours" to have the opportunity to play.

In his post-match interview, Djokovic said this championship was special because his son was in the stands.

"For the first time in my life I have someone screaming, 'Daddy, daddy,'" the champion said, as the camera zoomed in on his son and wife clapping in the crowd.

As ESPN reports, Djokovic hadn't won a major since the 2016 French Open, and became so frustrated with his performance in the intervening years that he "spoke about skipping the grass-court circuit."

"I had many moments of doubt, and didn't know really if I could come back to the level to compete," Djokovic said after the final. "There's no better place in the world to really make a comeback. This is a sacred place for the world of tennis, I always dreamed of holding this trophy." </s> Novak Djokovic destroys Kevin Anderson to set up meeting with Alexander Zverev at ATP Finals

In-form Novak Djokovic produced a spellbinding performance to destroy Kevin Anderson and set up a meeting with Alexander Zverev in Sunday's showpiece at the ATP Finals.

Djokovic extended his winning run over the South African to eight matches, including the Wimbledon final earlier this year, with a comprehensive 6-2 6-2 victory on Saturday night.

Djokovic will now take on German Zverev, who has three Masters series titles under his belt in his short career, and is the youngest finalist at the event since Juan Martin del Potro in 2009, after he shocked Federer in the earlier match.

Djokovic, who has not dropped a single set in his four matches in London, has enjoyed a remarkable renaissance in the second half of the season after elbow surgery and indifferent form earlier in the year.

He has lost just two matches since the start of July, winning Wimbledon, the US Open, and Masters 1000 titles in Cincinnati and Shanghai along the way and emerging once more as the man to beat as he attempts to pull level with Roger Federer on six ATP Finals titles.

The 31-year-old Serb made his intentions clear from the opening game with a break and he continued to make life difficult for Anderson by squeezing the court and forcing a 17th error from the South African's racket for a 5-2 lead.

He served out the set in 39 minutes, with an air of inevitability building around a capacity O2 Arena.

Anderson, who became the first African player to reach the semi-finals in the tournament's history, cut a disconsolate figure when hot favourite for the year-end title Djokovic tightened his grip with an immediate break at the start of the second set.

He secured the double-break for a comfortable 4-1 lead with a crushing forehand and it was all over two games later, closing it out in 75 minutes, as he sealed his spot in Sunday's finale.

"Stunning again! His ability to get behind the ball and change direction," Sky Sports' Barry Cowan applauds Djokovic's winner.

Novak's best of this week

"I think it was the best match I have played so far this week. It came at the right time. Kevin was playing some really good tennis this week. He lost the serve in the first game and that obviously makes a big difference," said Djokovic.

"He relies a lot on his serve. His first serve percentage was quite low. It wasn't working and the crucial stat is trying to win as many points as possible on his second serve. I was trying to constantly put pressure on his service games and use my serve accurately. It worked really well."

Djokovic leads the meetings with Zverev 2-1 having beaten the 21-year-old German 6-4 6-1 earlier in the week in their round-robin group match. The Serb also defeated Zverev 6-2 6-1 in Shanghai this year, but lost to the young pretender 6-4 6-3 in the Rome Masters final in 2017.

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We will have extensive coverage of the ATP Finals at London's O2 with Sunday's final live on Sky Sports Arena & Sky Sports Mix (which is for all sky customers at no extra cost!) from 3.30pm. </s> Novak Djokovic was back to his brutal best as he beat South African eighth seed Kevin Anderson 6-2 6-2 7-6(3) to win the Wimbledon men's singles title for the fourth time on Sunday.

The Serb was back roaring into the skies in triumph as he captured a 13th Grand Slam title to end a 25-month barren run at the slams.

After being kept on court for almost 11 hours during his last two wins over defending champion Roger Federer and John Isner, fatigue finally caught up with Anderson on Sunday as he failed in his bid to become the first South African man to win the Wimbledon title.

Djokovic had also spent more than five hours to subdue Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals but he relied on his supreme levels of fitness to outlast Anderson, with the South African netting a service return on match point. </s> Media playback is not supported on this device Wimbledon 2018: Novak Djokovic wins fourth Wimbledon title

Wimbledon 2018 on the BBC Venue: All England Club, Wimbledon Dates: 2-15 July Coverage: Watch live on BBC TV, BBC iPlayer, BBC Red Button, Connected TVs and the BBC Sport website and app; Live Radio 5 live and 5 live sports extra commentary; Text commentary online.

Novak Djokovic earned his first Grand Slam title in more than two years by beating Kevin Anderson to win his fourth Wimbledon championship.

Djokovic, seeded 12th, won 6-2 6-2 7-6 (7-3) to claim a 13th Slam - his first major since the 2016 French Open.

The Serb, 31, quickly took control to win the opening set in 29 minutes, breaking twice more in the second set.

Djokovic saw off five set points in an even third set before dominating the tie-break to seal victory.

He dropped to his haunches just inside the baseline as Centre Court rose to acclaim the champion, hugging South African Anderson at the net before skipping over towards his box and celebrating wildly in front of his coaching team and wife Jelena.

"I had many moments of doubt, I didn't know if could come back to this level to compete," said Djokovic, who also won the Wimbledon title in 2011, 2014 and 2015.

"There is no better place to make a comeback, it's a sacred place for the world of tennis, it's very special."

He is now in outright fourth place on the all-time list of Grand Slam men's singles titles, moving clear of Roy Emerson and closing the gap on Roger Federer (20), Rafael Nadal (17) and Pete Sampras (14).

The former world number one will move back into the top 10 when the latest rankings are released on Monday.

It is his first title since winning Eastbourne last year.

Djokovic back to his Slam-winning best

Media playback is not supported on this device Novak Djokovic makes emotional speech after his fourth Wimbledon win

Djokovic dominated the men's game earlier this decade, holding the number one ranking for 223 weeks and completing a career Grand Slam when he claimed the title at Roland Garros two years ago.

Then, his cloak of invincibility began to slip.

After losing to Sam Querrey in the third round of Wimbledon in 2016, Djokovic alluded to difficulties in his personal life and his form subsequently tailed off.

Fitness also became an issue, taking two spells away from the ATP Tour because of an elbow injury, leading to him dropping out of the world's top 20 earlier this year for the first time since 2006.

Now he is back among the world's elite after a wonderful Wimbledon.

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

Anderson rarely ventured forward and offered little variation - until the third set at least - but Djokovic nullified the increased threat to win in two hours and 18 minutes.

Slow start for Anderson after marathon match

While Djokovic's troubles have been well documented, eighth seed Anderson has enjoyed his own renaissance in the past 12 months.

The 32-year-old cracked the world's top 10 for the first time towards the end of 2015, but faced a catalogue of injury problems during 2016 and dropped towards the foot of the top 100 as a result.

However, he has battled back to reach two Grand Slam finals and a top-five ranking over the past 18 months.

While reaching last year's US Open final showed he possesses an all-round game, Anderson's biggest weapon remains his serve - which he lost in the opening game against Djokovic with a double fault on break point.

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Anderson struggled to find his rhythm and movement in a slow start, unsurprising after spending almost 11 hours on court in his previous two matches, and lost serve again in the fifth game.

While Roger Federer and John Isner eventually succumbed in those marathon quarter-final and semi-final matches, Djokovic was always going to be a tougher opponent to crack with the Serb regarded by many as the best returner in the game's history.

Of course, Djokovic also had a lengthy semi-final against Rafael Nadal but he did not look like he had returned to Centre Court without the benefit of a day off.

After taking the opener, Djokovic continued to wear down Anderson and, helped by some unforced errors from the South African's racquet, broke again in the first game of the second set.

Djokovic moved 4-1 ahead before Anderson finally started to ask questions of Djokovic's serve, missing his first break point in what proved to be the final game of the second set.

Djokovic keeps cool after Anderson rallies

Kevin Anderson's semi-final victory against John Isner on Friday took six hours and 35 minutes

Anderson rarely ventured forward in the opening two sets, coming to the net on seven occasions, before changing tack and making 14 approaches in the final set alone.

It contributed to an even third set as both men dominated their service games until Anderson earned another break point in the eighth game - the first of the set - with the help of the net cord.

Djokovic cranked up the tempo, landing a first serve to see off the break point, only to offer up two set points in the 10th game with two double faults.

He managed to save both, despite many on Centre Court cheering when they thought he had hit a forehand long on the first, going on to hold for 5-5 and greeting the winning point with a huge roar towards the crowd.

Djokovic's next service game also came under pressure as Anderson could not convert three further set points - and his failure to do so proved costly.

Djokovic raced 4-1 ahead in the tie-break, earning four championship points when Anderson dumped a forehand into the net.

The South African saved the first with a smash, but was powerless to save the second as Djokovic hit a first serve down the middle which could only be returned into the net.

"I am definitely not feeling as fresh as I was coming into the week," smiled Anderson.

"But I'd have given another 21 hours to have the opportunity to play out here, it really meant a lot to me."

Analysis

Three-time Wimbledon champion and former Djokovic coach Boris Becker on BBC TV

Djokovic is super-fit, very dedicated. He studies the history books, he knows Nadal and Federer have more Grand Slams though he won't talk about it. He can play for two or three years more years and win a few more majors.

Four-time Wimbledon semi-finalist Tim Henman on BBC TV

When you reflect on Anderson's last three matches, he had to play the match of his life against Federer from two sets down.

Then he has to play the new match of his life against Isner. Then to come back on finals day to beat Djokovic is a step too far.

He showed guts and determination, he hung in there and created opportunities. If he could have got the third set there might have been a second wind. </s> Serbia’s Novak Djokovic has defeated South Africa’s Kevin Anderson in a three-set match at Wimbledon’s men’s single final today. The 6-2 6-2 7-6 victory marks Njokovic’s fourth Wimbledon win and 13th Grand Slam title overall, his last having been won at the 2016 French Open.

“The last couple of years haven’t been easy,” said Djokovic of the win. “I had surgery and was absent from the tour for six months. This was my first grand slam final after a couple of years. There was no better place to make my comeback. This is a sacred place for tennis. I always dreamed of holding this trophy when I was a young boy.”

“Playing against Novak isn’t easy,” added Anderson. “Congratulations to him. I’m not feeling as fresh now as I was coming into the week. But this is an amazing tournament for all of us. That’s what it had to take for me to get here. I would have given another 21 hours to have the opportunity to play out here.”

After suffering an elbow injury that caused Djokovic to withdraw from the 2017 Wimbledon quarterfinal, his win at Wimbledon today marks his first major victory in more than two years. In yesterday’s semifinal match, Djokovic had defeated Spain’s Rafael Nadal, the world number one, in a five-set match.

Meanwhile, had he won today’s match, Anderson would have gained his first Grand Slam title. He came close at the 2017 US Open final, but lost against Spain’s Rafael Nadal. At this year’s Wimbledon men’s semifinal, he defeated America’s John Isner in a gruelling match that lasted six hours and 35 minutes, the second longest in Wimbledon history.

Watch Venus Williams’s 7 Best Workout Moves for a Grand Slam Body—Just Ahead of Wimbledon </s> Roger Federer is one victory away from a ninth Wimbledon title. Four-time champion Novak Djokovic is standing in the way. Federer and Djokovic will meet in the men's final at the All England Club for the third time. Djokovic won both of those previous matchups, in 2014 and 2015. Federer did get the better of Djokovic at Wimbledon on Centre Court once, beating the Serb in the semifinals in 2012. Federer, who is 37, is going for his 21st major title, while Djokovic, 32, is eyeing his 16th. Djokovic leads their head-to-head series 25-22, including 9-6 at Grand Slam tournaments.

Switzerland's Roger Federer returns to Spain's Rafael Nadal in a Men's singles semifinal match on day eleven of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Friday, July 12, 2019. (Adrian Dennis/Pool Photo via AP)

3 - Unforced errors made by Simona Halep, the fewest on record in a Wimbledon final.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"The day I stop fighting for equality and for people that look like you and me will be the day I'm in my grave." - Serena Williams, responding to a reporter's question at her post-match news conference.

Serbia's Novak Djokovic returns to Spain's Roberto Bautista Agut in a Men's singles semifinal match on day eleven of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Friday, July 12, 2019. (Andy Rain/Pool Photo via AP)

Romania's Simona Halep poses with the trophy after defeating United States' Serena Williams during the women's singles final match on day twelve of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Saturday, July 13, 2019. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

United States' Serena Williams reacts after losing a point to Romania's Simona Halep, background right, during the women's singles final match on day twelve of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Saturday, July 13, 2019. (AP Photo/Tim Ireland) </s> Novak Djokovic outlasts Roger Federer in a marathon fifth set to win his fifth Wimbledon title and 16th Grand Slam. (3:06)

Novak Djokovic outlasted Roger Federer in an epic five-set match Sunday, winning the first fifth-set tiebreaker in a Wimbledon men's final to repeat as the men's champion for the second time and win his fifth title at the All England Club.

The fifth-set tiebreaker was also the first in any men's final at the four Grand Slams.

The top-seeded Djokovic defeated Federer 7-6 (5), 1-6, 7-6 (4), 4-6, 13-12 (3) to remain unbeaten against the second-seeded Swiss in three Wimbledon final matchups. Djokovic also won in 2014 and '15, when he repeated as champion for the first time.

He won his first Wimbledon title in 2011.

At four hours and 57 minutes, it was the longest final in Wimbledon history, featuring 68 games, 422 points (218 for Federer and 204 for Djokovic) and 35 aces.

"Unfortunately in these kinds of matches,'' Djokovic said, "one of the players has to lose.''

Djokovic, 32, saved two match points to reach the fifth-set tiebreaker, becoming the first man since 1948 to save championship points in the final and go on to win.

"I'm just obviously thrilled and overjoyed with emotions to be sitting here in front of you as a winner. It was one shot away from losing the match, as well," he said. "This match had everything. It could have gone easily his way. He was serving extremely well, I thought, the entire match."

First it was Federer who kept falling behind, then coming back. He twice trailed by a set even though he came quite close to winning the match in three: Federer was two points from grabbing the opening set on seven occasions but couldn't do it; he was one point from seizing the third, but again came up short.

Novak Djokovic outlasted Roger Federer in the longest final in Wimbledon history to win his fifth men's title at the All England Club. Daniel Leal-Olivas/AFP

Then Federer was down a break early in the fifth. And after seemingly gaining the upper hand, standing a single point from winning while serving for the victory at 8-7, 40-15, he faltered.

He sent a forehand wide on the first championship point, and Djokovic produced a crosscourt forehand winner on the next. Soon enough, Djokovic had broken back and on they would play for another 45 minutes.

"Definitely tough to have those chances," Federer said.

The crowd was decidedly pro-Federer and Djokovic said it was "hard not to be aware."

"I like to transmutate it in a way: When the crowd is chanting 'Roger,' I hear 'Novak,' he said, smiling. "It sounds silly, but it is like that. I try to convince myself that it's like that."

play 1:44 Djokovic: When the crowd chanted 'Roger,' I heard 'Novak' 2019 Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic outlines how he phased out the All England Club crowd's heavy support for his opponent, Roger Federer.

Federer, at 37 years and 340 days old, was seeking to become the oldest men's Grand Slam winner in the Open era (since 1968).

It is Djokovic's 16th Grand Slam title overall, moving him to within four of Federer's record 20. Rafael Nadal is second on the list with 18 Grand Slam victories.

Federer said he isn't thinking about Nadal and Djokovic threatening his record.

"I take motivation from different places, you know. Not so much from trying to stay ahead because I broke the record, and if somebody else does, well, that's great for them. You can't protect everything anyway," he said.

"I didn't become a tennis player for that. I really didn't. It's about trying to win Wimbledon, trying to have good runs here, playing in front of such an amazing crowd in this Centre Court against players like Novak and so forth. That's what I play for."

Wimbledon traditionally didn't play tiebreakers in the final set of matches but introduced one for this year if the score reaches 12-12.

ESPN Stats & Information and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
In men's professional tennis, Novak Djokovic defeats Kevin Anderson in three sets to win his fourth Wimbledon championship.