A new champion at the SW19
Novak Djokovic celebrated his elevation to the top of the World Rankings by beating the man he took the top spot from and being crowned the new king at Wimbledon. Nadal hadn’t lost a match at SW19 since his loss to Federer here in the finals in 2007 but that streak was destined to end with Djokovic playing absolutely sublime tennis that extended his record to 47 wins out of 48 matches this season.
Nadal hadn’t lost to Djokovic in five Grand Slam meetings but Nadal was on the wrong side of the scoreline four times this season, including twice on his favourite clay. Djokovic was a man on a mission and was impossible to stop and that was what Nadal found out during the final on Sunday. Showing no signs of nerves in his first final here, Djokovic held his serve without much problem as he took a 5-4 lead in the first set. And then Nadal felt the pressure on him! A weak shot into the net and an error of a forehand gave the Serb the all important set.
Nadal went 0-30 up in the first game of the second set but Djokovic didn’t just let go! He came back with a vengeance and created two break points of Nadal’s serve and converted the first to take a 2-0 lead. He didn’t need a second invitation and sealed the second set in no time, Nadal winning only 1 game. The crowd was hoping to see a comeback and Nadal responded in style by winning the third set 6-1 as Djokovic made as many errors as he had done in the whole semifinal against Murray.
The fourth set couldn’t have started more aggressively as Djokovic saved a break point in the opening game but Nadal wasn’t able to follow suit as Djokovic took a 2-0 lead. Nadal fought back like a true champion would and broke back right away and held his serve to level the scoreline. At 3-4, Nadal cracked! A double fault followed by two more errors gave three points to the Serb. Nadal saved one with a spectacular forehand but his next was long and Novak found himself serving for the Championship. Nadal had no answer and when he hit his backhand long, screams erupted from Djokovic’s box while the man himself knelt down and picked up a blade of grass and ate it.
A new champion was crowned at the All England Championships thus ending the Roger-Rafa reign who have shared the title here since 2004. Djokovic will now find himself atop the ATP rankings when they are released on Monday, a perfect gift for winning the Wimbledon, while it remains to be seen if this marks the beginning of the Novak Djokovic era!
Tags: All-England Club, Grand Slam, London, Novak Djokovik, Rafael Nadal, SW19, Tennis, Wimbledon 2011
