Wimbledon 2022: 3 things we learned from Novak Djokovic's title win
Novak Djokovic won his seventh Wimbledon and 21st Grand Slam title last Sunday by beating Nick Kyrgios in a hotly-contested final. It was also Djokovic’s fourth Wimbledon title in a row and took him past Roger Federer’s tally of 20 Grand Slam titles.
A hero's welcome home for our seven-time champion 🏆
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The 35-year-old Serb also equalled Pete Sampras and William Renshaw's tally of seven Wimbledon titles with his win on Sunday and is now only behind Federer (8) in the all-time tally at the grasscourt Major.
On that note, let’s take a look at three things we learned from Djokovic’s title win at the All England Club:
#1 Novak Djokovic is still one of the fittest and also the toughest player around mentally:
Novak Djokovic made a comeback after having lost the first set in each of his last three matches at this year’s Wimbledon Championships. In the quarterfinal against Jannik Sinner, he bounced back from a two-set deficit to win the match.
It was testimony to the Serb’s excellent fitness and he never looked exhausted while playing against players who were much younger than him. His court-coverage is still among the best in the world and he continued to stretch and slide on the grass to retrieve the ball from the baseline.
Moreover, Djokovic has almost always managed to raise his level during crucial moments to keep his opponents on their toes. That quality was demonstrated perfectly in the tiebreak in the final set against Kyrgios, when the Serb raced to a 6-1 lead and gave the Australian almost no chance of making a comeback.
# 2 Novak Djokovic’s return of serve and defense is still among the best in the world:
Novak Djokovic is one of the finest - if not the finest - returners of all time. He once again exhibited his consummate returning skills in the final, when he dealt with the thunderbolts served by Kyrgios with aplomb.
Djokovic kept landing his returns deep to nullify the advantage Kyrgios had with his monstrous serve. He also defended superbly from the baseline as the Australian found it difficult to hit through him. The same happened in the semifinal against Norrie too, which saw the Brit really struggling to hit winners with groundstrokes.
#3 Novak Djokovic’s serve and net-skills have improved over the recent years:
Novak Djokovic’s serve is one of the most improved shots in world tennis at the moment. His stint with his coach Goran Ivanisevic, who was one of the finest servers of his generation, has helped him a great deal in this regard.
Djokovic’s serve was overshadowed by his opponent’s in the final, but it has to be remembered that he fired as many as 15 aces. He served 13 aces in the semifinals too, and has served brilliantly during key moments.
Djokovic also exhibited his drop shots and volleying skills in the tournament and some of the shots he played were breathtaking. The running backhand passing shot he hit against Sinner was quite possibly the shot of the tournament.
This is how champions play 💫
Over to you, @DjokerNole...
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He hit 46 winners in the final, which was still less than Kyrgios’ tally, but an impressive stat nevertheless. It went on to confirm Djokovic’s all-round ability as a tennis player.