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After two gruelling semifinals, the 2018 Championships come to an end with Kevin Anderson taking on Novak Djokovic.
Can Anderson cause a massive upset and claim his first grand slam title or will Djokovic triumph to win his first title since the 2016 French Open?
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Kevin Anderson is coming off a gruelling five-set marathon win over American John Isner in which the pair battled through a 50-game fifth set.
The South African took six hours and 36 minutes to defeat Isner 7-6 (8-6), 6-7 (5-7), 6-7 (9-11), 6-4, 26-24 in what is now the second-longest match in professional tennis history.
The 32-year-old will no doubt be tired after the demanding match, particularly given he has also had to fight through another five-set match as well as two four-setters.
He does have a slight advantage with a full days rest however after Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic were forced to complete their match on Saturday.
Anderson has only had one opponent outside of the top 50 in an extremely tough draw. He began his Wimbledon campaign with a straight-sets win over Norbert Gombos before dismantling world No.50 Andreas Seppi in four sets during the second round.
He also defeated world No.27 Philipp Kohlschreiber in straight sets before sending world No.44 Gael Monfils out in four sets.
Anderson began his Wimbledon campaign with a straight-sets win over Norbert Gombos before dismantling Andreas Seppi in four sets during the second round and then going on to knock off Philipp Kohlschreiber in straight sets and Gael Monfils in four sets.
He caused a major upset after knocking out world No.2 and tournament favourite Roger Federer during the quarterfinals.
Anderson fought back from two sets down to secure an important victory in five sets, triumphing after a 24-game fifth set to win 2-6, 6-7, 7-5, 6-4, 13-11.
Anderson’s win over Isner during the semifinals was testament to his strong serve, hitting 49 aces with only four double faults throughout the match.
He becomes the first South African man to reach the final since Brian Norton in 1921 and is hunting a first grand slam title.
Novak Djokovic has similarly overcome a tough semifinal to book his place in the final for the fifth time in his career.
The Serbian has three Wimbledon titles to his name, making his first appearance in a grand slam final since finishing runner-up at the 2016 US Open.
Djokovic is currently ranked world No.21 and has had some tough matches throughout the tournament. He accounted for Tennys Sandgren and Horacio Zeballos easily in the early rounds, defeating both in straight sets before coming back from a set down to defeat local Kyle Edmund 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4.
Djokovic started the second week against rising star Karen Khachanov winning 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 and then defeating Kei Nishikori 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2.
His matchup with Rafael Nadal lasted for over five hours, stretched over two days however, he managed to outgun his opponent in five sets 6-4, 3-6, 7-6, 3-6, 10-8. Djokovic displayed plenty of guts, playing well along the baseline and recovering from limited hours of sleep.
That mental barrier will certainly be the biggest to overcome as Djokovic will be functioning on limited sleep.
He will be hoping to come out of the gates against Anderson and get the match over and done with swiftly however, his opponent will be slightly more fresh and raring to go in his third career final appearance.
Anderson and Djokovic have played in six matches throughout their careers with the Serbian winning five of those.
Two meetings have come on grass, Djokovic winning on both occasions including their most recent encounter in the fourth round of the 2015 Championships where he came back from two sets down to win 6-7, 6-7, 6-1, 6-4, 7-5.
Prediction
Anderson will benefit immensely from the day off despite playing 21 hours of tennis to outlast his opponent and claim a maiden grand slam title.
Anderson in four sets.
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