The first four rounds of the gentlemen’s singles tournament were pretty ordinary, but the last two rounds were rather extraordinary. The six matches in the quarterfinals and semifinals were played over the course of 28 sets, out of a possible 30. The semifinals alone combined for 11 hours and 51 minutes of play, in the two longest Wimbledon semifinals ever contested.
Over the last two rounds, Kevin Anderson has played for 10 hours and 50 minutes, in what equates to a mind-boggling 16 sets of tennis. What can he possibly have left for Sunday’s final? But at least he had a full day of rest on Saturday, while Djokovic had to play almost three sets worth of tennis to complete his defeat of Rafael Nadal on Saturday. Djokovic’s semifinal was over an hour shorter than Anderson’s semifinal, but the points he played against Nadal were much more grueling. Both men will be challenged to be physically fit on Sunday afternoon, though they’ll surely give their every last bit of energy as they compete for the most prestigious tennis championship in the world.
Kevin Anderson vs. Novak Djokovic
Two years ago, Novak Djokovic walked into The All England Club as the reigning champion at all four Majors. But that’s where a tumultuous two years of mental, emotional, and physical turmoil began for Novak, who was upset by Sam Querrey in the third round of The Championships. In the last two years, he’s won no Majors, and only three titles overall. Last year at Wimbledon, he retired during his quarterfinal match due to an elbow injury that would keep him off the court for the duration of 2017. He continued to struggle with his elbow in 2018, as just two months ago, he was a meek 5-5 on the year. Just when it appeared he was becoming his old self again last month in Paris, he suffered the biggest upset of his career to Marco Cecchinato, a man who had never before won a singles match at a Major prior to this year’s Roland Garros. But as many have declared, Novak Djokovic is officially back, following his statement victory over Rafael Nadal in the semifinals.
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Kevin Anderson has long had the reputation of being a choke artist, to put it bluntly. Coming into this tournament, he was just 2-10 in the fourth round of Majors, and just 1-10 in the quarterfinals of Masters 1,000 events. However, that criticism should now be retired. On Wednesday in the quarterfinals, the 32-year-old South African came back from two sets down against Roger Federer, saving a match point on his way to a 13-11 fifth set victory. Then on Friday in the semifinals, Anderson, outlasted John Isner 26-24 in the fifth. Kevin is now into the second Major final of his career, and his second of the last four Grand Slam events played.
The head-to-head between these two is rather lopsided, as Djokovic leads Anderson 5-1. Novak has won the last five, as Kevin’s only victory came over 10 years ago. Their last meeting was their best and most notable, in the round of 16 at this very tournament three years ago. Anderson won the first two sets in tiebreaks, but Djokovic would come back to win 7-5 in the fifth, in a match played over the course of two days. That match occurred during Novak’s last title run at Wimbledon in 2015. Considering their history, as well as the amount of tennis Anderson has played since Wednesday, it’s hard to imagine Kevin pulling off the upset. That being said, if he can get an early lead and have another excellent serving day, obtaining his first Major title on Sunday is not impossible. And as tired as Anderson is, Djokovic will be plenty sore as well following his two-day battle with Nadal. Let’s also not forget this is the most significant match Novak has played in nearly two years, since he lost the 2016 US Open final to Stan Wawrinka. Djokovic will certainly be nervy on this day, and we’ve seen how frustrated he can become on court, even in victory. We’ve also watched Djokovic blink at the finish line just a few weeks ago, when he had a match point against Marin Cilic in the final at Queen’s Club, yet lost the match. Anderson can find some hope in all of those points, but the fact remains Djokovic is the favorite to win his fourth Gentlemen’s Singles Trophy, which would put him behind only Roger Federer, Pete Sampras, and Bjorn Borg in the open era.
