Novak Djokovic and Angelique Kerber were crowned Wimbledon champions in a tournament which will be remembered for comebacks and five-set epics.
Kerber collected her first Wimbledon championship with a stunning victory over Serena Williams as the German confirmed her return to the top of the sport.
Then on Sunday, Djokovic put two years of struggles with motivation, confidence and fitness behind him by beating Kevin Anderson to win his fourth Wimbledon crown and 13th Grand Slam title.
Wimbledon will also be remembered for memorable fifth sets and the absence of Andy Murray. Here, we pick out the best moments from another sensational fortnight at the All England Club.
Guess who’s back?
After 15 months of injury frustration and self-doubt, Novak Djokovic ruled the roost in south-west London. His run to the recent Queen’s Club final indicated his best form was returning after a difficult couple of years but he eventually found the form which took him to world No 1 and brought him a dozen Grand Slam titles.
Kerber’s maiden voyage
When each of the top 10 seeds tumbled in the first week, questions were raised about the strength of the women’s game. But the women’s showpiece featured two familiar names. Serena Williams’ run to the final, 10 months after giving birth to her daughter and suffering life-threatening complications, was as inspirational as it was impressive. But it was Angelique Kerber, the 11th seed, who claimed her first Wimbledon title two years after she was beaten in the final by Williams.
Kerber became the first German to win at Wimbledon since Graf’s 1996 title, while the 36-year-old Williams, who leapt 153 places to 28 in the ranking, will now look to win her 24th Grand Slam singles title, equalling Margaret Court’s all-time record, at the US Open,
Currently, the US Open is the only major that decides matches with a breaker at 6-6 in the fifth set. Wimbledon chief executive Richard Lewis has since said a tie-break in the final set, the format adopted at the US Open, would be considered. Important talks are planned before next year’s tournament.
Where are all the young guns?
Stefanos Tsitsipas, a talented 19-year-old from Greece, made it to the fourth round. But other than that the likes of Alexander Zverev, Nick Kyrgios and Dominic Thiem all failed to live up to their billing. Instead, the golden oldies continued to dominate at another Grand Slam with Djokovic, 31, Anderson, 32, Nadal, 32, and Isner, 33, made the first quartet of thirty-something semi-finalists at any major in the past 50 years.
Murray missed
The absence of two-time champion Andy Murray, who withdrew on the eve of the tournament due to his lack of match fitness, left a gaping hole from a British perspective. Maybe he will take some confidence from seeing his long-time rival returning to the top of his game after injury. The former world No 1 has recovered from his hip problem to the point where he expects to play the US hard-court season.
In Murray’s absence, Kyle Edmund reached the third round, while Johanna Konta’s championships were ended in round two. However, Jack Draper’s performance in the boys’ singles final, a narrow three-set defeat to the hugely-talented world junior No 1 Tseng Chun-hsin, offered hope for the future.
Our next tennis action comes from the German Open in Hamburg. Watch the action live on Sky Sports Arena from Monday, July 23 from 10am.
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