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PurpleFox
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LONDON -- Call it a trial by fire, and every great Wimbledon champion goes through it a few times in his career: the long crawl back out of a deep hole against an opponent with a big serve.
Top-seeded You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now. completed that task on Court 1 on Tuesday, ending a match that was suspended Monday night with the world No. 1 and You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now. deadlocked at two sets apiece.
Djokovic went on to win it, 6-7 (6), 6-7 (6), 6-1, 6-4, 7-5, in 3 hours, 47 minutes. He said immediately afterward: "It was one of the most difficult matches of my career. The way Kevin serves, at times I felt helpless out there."
Here are the takeaways:
1. Djokovic's ability to take care of his own serve: Anderson is going to hold serve -- it's a given. But Djokovic's ability to force long sets by taking care of his own serve helped forced Anderson to pay a high price in concentration and effort for each of the tiebreaker sets he won.
2. The ironman factor: Djokovic improved his five-set record to an outstanding 25-8. It was his fourth comeback from two sets down -- and his first since he edged You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now. at the 2012 French Open.
3. The soft underbelly: Anderson might have gotten over the hump had he been more able to capitalize on break points. Each one reached against a player of Djokovic's caliber is a golden opportunity, yet Anderson was able to convert just one of eight.
4. Coming up clutch: Djokovic struggled early in the fifth, but he survived a pair of break points to level the set at 2-all. Serving to stay in the match at 4-5, Djokovic played his best game of the final set, winning four straight points. He ended the game with an ace.
5. Falling on your own sword: Anderson pounded down 40 aces, which helped bring his grand total in the match to 71 winners. Yet, Anderson hit his last of seven double faults at 5-5, 15-30 in the fifth set. On the next point, Djokovic fired a terrific crosscourt forehand service return that Anderson couldn't handle dig out. Djokovic then served it out.
Top-seeded You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now. completed that task on Court 1 on Tuesday, ending a match that was suspended Monday night with the world No. 1 and You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now. deadlocked at two sets apiece.
Djokovic went on to win it, 6-7 (6), 6-7 (6), 6-1, 6-4, 7-5, in 3 hours, 47 minutes. He said immediately afterward: "It was one of the most difficult matches of my career. The way Kevin serves, at times I felt helpless out there."
Here are the takeaways:
1. Djokovic's ability to take care of his own serve: Anderson is going to hold serve -- it's a given. But Djokovic's ability to force long sets by taking care of his own serve helped forced Anderson to pay a high price in concentration and effort for each of the tiebreaker sets he won.
2. The ironman factor: Djokovic improved his five-set record to an outstanding 25-8. It was his fourth comeback from two sets down -- and his first since he edged You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now. at the 2012 French Open.
3. The soft underbelly: Anderson might have gotten over the hump had he been more able to capitalize on break points. Each one reached against a player of Djokovic's caliber is a golden opportunity, yet Anderson was able to convert just one of eight.
4. Coming up clutch: Djokovic struggled early in the fifth, but he survived a pair of break points to level the set at 2-all. Serving to stay in the match at 4-5, Djokovic played his best game of the final set, winning four straight points. He ended the game with an ace.
5. Falling on your own sword: Anderson pounded down 40 aces, which helped bring his grand total in the match to 71 winners. Yet, Anderson hit his last of seven double faults at 5-5, 15-30 in the fifth set. On the next point, Djokovic fired a terrific crosscourt forehand service return that Anderson couldn't handle dig out. Djokovic then served it out.