Novak Djokovic is the grand slam comeback no one predicted at Wimbledon
Novak Djokovic battled out in the second longest semifinal in Wimbledon history with Rafael Nadal over a two-day stretch to push for his spot in a fifth final, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(9), 3-6, 10-8.
While we’ve been riding the wave of Roger Federer’s and Rafael Nadal’s incredible resurgence, Novak Djokovic has been steadily building up one of his own.
After completing the Career Slam with his French Open title in 2016, Djokovic went on to make the finals at the U.S. Open that year, but was stunned by Stan Wawrinka. The Serb hasn’t been in a grand slam final since. That is, until Sunday, where he’ll face South Africa’s Kevin Anderson.
Djokovic is looking to prove his own comeback with another grand slam title, to add to his haul of 12. With 13, he will sit just one behind the great Pete Sampras’ 14, four behind Nadal’s, and a most likely-insurmountable seven behind Federer’s. Seven doesn’t sound like a lot, but in grand slam terms, each slam feat is a huge endeavor and often times takes years to accomplish.
Federer and Nadal may have swooped up three a piece since their comebacks last year, but Fed had to wait five years between numbers 17 and 20. It’s been two years for Djokovic.
The two years have been fraught with difficulty, injury, upheavals in his coaching and support staff, two babies, and lots of doubt — by tennis fans, but also by himself.
The road back has been bumpy all along the way, with false starts, lots of promise, but ultimately disappointment.
Until this year, when he started making inroads into tournaments. Djokovic underwent a minor operation this year to help correct his elbow problem. He also went back to his former coach Marián Vajda, getting rid of celebrity coaches Boris Becker, Andre Agassi and Radek Stepanek over the last year or so. He’s been more focused and made major inroads into tournaments since the spring clay season, after a sluggish start at the beginning of the year.
“Speaking from this position right now it makes it even better for me, makes it’s even more special because I managed to overcome challenges and obstacles, get myself to the finals of a slam,” said Djokovic after the semi win. “Obviously if you told me that six months ago, I would take it right away. But did I truly believe that I can get back on the level? Yes. It’s hard for me to play tennis and not believe that I can be the best in what I do.”
His victory over Rafael Nadal in the Wimbledon semifinals is his biggest comeback confirmation yet. The last time the two had met, they had battled at the Rome semifinals on Nadal’s favorite surface a few months back. But at the All England Club, the two were on more even footing, with the Serb owning their head-to-head with 26 wins before the match, now 27 out of their 52 meetings. Nole owns three Wimbledon titles compared with Rafa’s two. On paper their matchup looked to be in the Serb’s favor, but Rafa had been playing near-perfect grass court tennis all tournament long and was sitting on top of the ATP rankings.
Djokovic had his work cut out for him, but won a decisive tie break in the third set to give himself a two-set lead. But play stopped at the strict 11:00 p. m. curfew and had to resume the next day, with Rafa jumping out of the gate all guns blazing to fight back to get the fourth, sending both legends into a fifth set.
This year’s Wimbledon has been all about the long matches, and this one was no exception, with the final set clocking in 18 games, and finally ending with the Spaniard hitting a forehand long, after five hours and 15 minutes, sending a rejuvenated Djokovic into the finals.
He will be facing Kevin Anderson, who survived the longest semifinal in Wimbledon history, clocking in at six hours and 36 minutes. He also had to go the distance the match before by beating Federer in the final set 13-11. Granted that both players will be physically spent by the time the final rolls around on Sunday.
“I’ll just have to accept the circumstances and try to recover as best as I can,” Djokovic said after the match.
Djokovic and Anderson will enter the final like two battered warriors, ready for one last skirmish. With so many expecting another Federer-Nadal final, seeing Djokovic’s name is quite a coup for the 12-time slam champion.
Last year it was all about Roger Federer’s and Rafael Nadal’s comeback. This year it is perhaps all about Novak Djokovic’s.
Next: Serena Williams won more than she lost at Wimbledon
The men’s final can be viewed on EPSN at 9:00 a.m. ET with an encore at 3:00 p.m. on ABC.