Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Novak Djokovic Beats Kevin Anderson To Win Fourth Wimbledon

Serbia's Novak Djokovic beamed as he held his trophy, having defeated South Africa's Kevin Anderson to win his fourth Wimbledon.
Serbia's Novak Djokovic beamed as he held his trophy, having defeated South Africa's Kevin Anderson to win his fourth Wimbledon.

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."

This is Djokovic's 13th major title.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.