From adversity to heroism, the story of Novak Djokovic's return continues

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that was stopped with Djokovic leading by two sets to a Friday night because of the 23 hours The Wimbledon curfew resumed at 13 hours. (pushing the women's final) under the roof of the Center Court. The unpredictable fluctuations in momentum continued until the end. Players often cite things that they could have done differently during post-mortems in the newsroom, but not this time:

"Normally, I'm very critical of myself," Nadal said by way of after. "[But] I hit very good shots, I played aggressively, I missed balls – not too much, but I missed a few … When you play with this intensity, with this level of risk, sometimes you go over, no? "

Nadal claimed that he had no complaints. Nothing that he would have done differently, resumed, or altered. He felt that he was playing a good match, just like Djokovic, who beat him straight and square.

"I do not have many more things in me," he added. "I give my best and that's all."

The angle of human interest is always interesting in matches like this, and it could be sued in the name of one or the other man. But sometimes, the most interesting story has more to do with a less compelling aspect of the match, something technical.

In this match, it was hard to ignore the advantage that Djokovic had because he was hitting a flatter ball and more laser. on both sides. His shots move simply on a flatter trajectory, arrive faster and land further than those of Nadal, whose point shots were specially designed for a very different surface.

Nadal does a lot of brilliant shots on the grbad, but it's not because he has big shots of turf. The proximity of this match was a tribute to Nadal's courage as a competitor, the result being a eulogy of Djokovic's composure at a time when the momentum changed in Nadal's favor.

"He is probably the best fighter of this game" Djokovic told me. "He faces each point as if he was the last one, you come in the match against him knowing that you have to earn points, it is already a moment of energy expenditure."

Conserving one's energy is paramount in a match with Nadal, but this is only a partial explanation of Djokovic's reach on the pitch. Since the beginning of its collapse, the 31-year-old Serbian star has turned to attitudes that can be loosely termed Zen or centered on inner peace and balance. These inclinations helped him control his emotions during some difficulties against Nadal.

"When you play such a level, against one of the biggest rivals, probably my biggest rival, it's pretty intense," Djokovic said. "There are a lot of emotions at play. A lot at stake. It is important to accept and accept everything that is going on and try to have a calm mind. because the calm spirit in the end wins out. "

In sight for Djokovic now, the last Sunday race against Kevin Anderson. The # 8 seed had a day off Saturday but has played more than 15 hours of tennis in his last three rounds. He came to the tournament with a chronic hamstring injury, for which he was wearing compression shorts. He did not even know how to tackle his recovery from the semi-finals, having never been involved in such a long match.

"I think we're going to play at the ear, see how I feel, see how my body reacts in the morning," Anderson said Friday night. "My feet are sore, they are swollen, the legs are rather jelly-like Ideally, I would like to go out and knock for maybe 30 minutes just to keep the eye. I want to try to keep the same kind "

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Novak Djokovic spoke after his semifinal win at Wimbledon against Rafael Nadal, advancing for his 22nd final final.

T optimal circumstances for a player about to face a list of 12 Grand Slam singles. Djokovic's profile as a player is also fraught with challenges for a player the size of Anderson (6 feet 8 inches) and the state of tiredness