There are moments in the careers of sportspersons where they shift levels, repositioning themselves from being extremely good, to signalling they are among the game’s greats or that they will be in the course of time. Novak Djokovic did this at Wimbledon 2015, winning his third title and ninth Grand Slam, surpassing Andre Agassi, Ivan Lendl, Jimmy Connors and Ken Rosewall. He is just two short of the 11 won by Bjorn Borg and Rod Laver, which is well within his reach and — heaven knows — there may be a few more along the way. In the final, he and Roger Federer, who was in the form of his life right through the tournament, were locked in two extraordinarily tight sets, before Djokovic stamped his dominance on the match and won in four. The tall Serb lacks the innate and almost reflexive genius of Federer, who can produce tennis strokes that are surreal, defying both convention and the laws of physics. But what he has in full measure is a complete all-round game — anchored by a first-rate serve and an outstanding return of serve — that he uses to remarkable effect to constantly chisel away at the opponent’s defences and wear him down. Djokovic rarely wins by blasting his opponents out of court but by enfeebling them, using his elasticity and resolve to return pretty much everything thrown at him. Over the last three years, few players have been able to withstand the relentless and unforgiving nature of the Djokovic game.
If one man took a step towards greatness, this Wimbledon saw a woman strengthening her claim to being the greatest woman tennis player of all time. Serena Williams won her 21st Grand Slam when she defeated dark horse Garbine Muguruza in straight sets to hold up the Venus Rosewater dish once again. She remains just short of Steffi Graf (22nd), but on current form she has a more than fair chance of equalling it at next month’s U.S. Open — a victory that will earn her a calendar year Grand Slam, last won by Graf in 1988. True, Margaret Court won as many as 24 Grand Slam singles titles, and while there is no taking away from her greatness, the fact is that some of these were logged in the amateur era; moreover, almost half came at the Australian Open in which many women players chose not to contest at the time. Williams has redefined the meaning of power in the women’s game — no one has served the ball as consistently hard as she has and very few have the power to out-hit her, as Maria Sharapova discovered yet again in the semi-final. Wimbledon 2015, above all, was about two great champions: Djokovic and Williams.
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