London, Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic on Sunday overpowered South Africa’s Kevin Anderson 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (7-3) in a lopsided Wimbledon final, taking home the trophy for the fourth time in his career.
Both players had reached the final round after surviving the two longest semifinal matches in Wimbledon’s history. Djokovic needed just two hours and 16 minutes to beat a visibly-drained Anderson, reports Efe.
This win also marks a stunning return to form for Djokovic after struggling with a right elbow injury earlier this season.
Although he had to save two set points in the 10th game of the third set and another three in the 12th, Djokovic came out victorious after an overall great performance on English grass, where he had been forced to withdraw due to his elbow injury in the 2017 quarterfinals against Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic.
The Wimbledon champion in 2011, 2014 and 2015, Djokovic now has 13 Grand Slam titles, his most recent being the 2016 French Open, and has won 69 tournaments in total.
Djokovic is also just one Grand Slam title behind the United States’ Pete Sampras, four behind Spain’s Rafael Nadal – who he beat in Saturday’s semifinal – and seven behind Switzerland’s Roger Federer, who Anderson beat in the quarterfinal.
On Monday, world No. 21 Djokovic is set to return to the ATP top 10 for the first time since he fell to world No. 22 in May, an achievement that is likely sweetened by Wimbledon’s victory check for 2.25 million pounds sterling (nearly $3 million).