ATP: Djokovic Wins 13th Grand Slam
Novak Djokovic came up in the tennis world during a difficult time. He's had to constantly face the two best tennis players to ever live: Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. And somehow, someway, Djokovic has still paved out an incredible career. He is certainly in the discussion for being a top five player of all-time. He's only solidified that with his 13th Grand Slam title, defeating Kevin Anderson in the 2018 Wimbledon Championships. In order to get to the championship match, Djokovic had to take down Nadal in a grueling five set fight that will be remembered for years to come. This marks his fourth Wimbledon title, which is his second most of any major tournament, trailing only the Australian Open, which he has won six times.
Djokovic began his Wimbledon journey this year against Tennys Sandgren, who he defeated in straight sets. He then went on to eliminate Horacio Zeballos, Kyle Edmund, and Karen Khachanov, with only Edmund taking a set. Kei Nishikori reached the Quarterfinals, but was no match for the Serbian. Djokovic won 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 to reach the Semifinals, where he'd meet the great Nadal. The match began on July 13th, but they could only fit in the first three sets before hitting the curfew. Which meant, for the first time since 2007, a semifinal would be played on Saturday morning, prior to the Ladies' title. Djokovic led 2-1 at the time, after taking a thrilling third set, winning 7-6 due to a back-and-forth 11-9 tiebreaker. It was already a great match at that point.
It only got better on the morning of July 14th as Nadal climbed back to take the fourth set, setting up a do or die fifth. The two held serve over and over, and we surpassed the initial 12 games as they two were deadlocked at six apiece. Djokovic finally broke Nadal, winning 10-8, and advancing to the final. It was an outstanding match that pitted two of the best ever against each other. That's as good as it gets. Then in the final, Anderson was no match for Djokovic. He won 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 to claim his 13th major title, which puts him fourth behind only Federer (20), Nadal (17), and Pete Sampras (14). It's been a wild journey for Djokovic, who was inarguably the best player in the world just a few years ago.
He was far better than Federer and Nadal, who were consistently dealing with injuries. From 2011-2016, he won 11 of a possible 24 Grand Slam titles, including taking three of the four in both 2011 an 2015. He was at the top of the world, and it realistically seemed like he'd surpass Federer and Nadal sooner rather than later. But at the 2016 Wimbledon, he was eliminated after struggling with injuries. Since, the last two years have been riddled with injuries and early exits, not winning any major title in 2017 and missing out on the first two this year. But Djokovic proved this time around that he's still a factor and can compete at the highest level again. It's good to see him back where he belongs, and who knows, maybe this will lead to a U.S. Open victory.
Photo Credit: Indian Express.
