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Wimbledon diary: Kerber's ghost bus and Space Jam on Centre Court

Saturday at Wimbledon revealed Angelique Kerber doesn't get public transport and Novak Djokovic feels like Michael Jordan.

Wimbledon winner Angelique Kerber kisses the trophy

London, July 15: Angelique Kerber clinched her first Wimbledon title by overcoming 23-time major winner Serena Williams on Saturday (July 14).

It's an honour to be the second best German behind Graf - Kerber

The German now possesses a humble total of three grand slam tiles in comparison, but that does not mean she gets public transport with the general population.

Novak Djokovic had somewhat of an out-of-body experience during his semi-final win over Rafael Nadal, while there was a first in the women's doubles.

GHOST BUS

A photo of Kerber waiting by a bus on the streets of Wimbledon just hours after winning her semi-final against Jelena Ostapenko on Thursday provided an uplifting tale of humility.

Except that wasn't exactly what happened.

"I saw the picture, but that was wrong. I was standing in front of the bus, but I was not taking the bus. I was waiting for my taxi, actually, to be honest," Kerber revealed to laughter from the media.

ROYAL RECEPTION

Williams attended the wedding between Prince Harry and the Duchess of Sussex in May, but there was no cause for celebration when Meghan Markle came to watch her at Wimbledon.

The Duchess of Cambridge was also in the Royal Box, but it was Kerber who received their congratulations before heading out onto the south-west balcony at Centre Court to parade the Venus Rosewater Dish.

A tweet from Kensington Palace in the aftermath still paid tribute to Williams, though.

The post read: "Congratulations @AngeliqueKerber on your first @Wimbledon title! And well played @SerenaWilliams, a great final."

SLAM DJOK

An enrapturing clash between Djokovic and Nadal lasted five hours and 15 minutes, but there was a moment where the former felt like the clock stopped.

With Nadal facing a match point, Djokovic rushed in from the baseline and slid forwards on the grass, his legs spreading ever further apart as he stretched every sinew to return an exquisite drop shot, only to roll the ball into the net.

"It was one of those moments where I think time stopped for me. Match point, I saw him coming in, I played a relatively solid shot. It was a moment of decision making for him knowing whether he was going to go for a drop shot or just smack the backhand. When I saw him changing the grip, I started running," said Djokovic.

"But the drop shot was just too good. I was too far away. But I did try to, like in 'Space Jam' with Michael Jordan, when he was trying to stretch, that's something that comes to my mind to describe it."

GROWING UP FAST

Away from Centre Court there was a slice of history on Saturday.

By defeating Nicole Melichar and Kveta Peschke 6-4 4-6 6-0 on No. 1 Court, Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova became the first team to win the girls' and women's doubles at Wimbledon.

They were 17 when they triumphed back in 2013 and they did not have to wait too long for success on the senior level.

Source: OPTA

Story first published: Sunday, July 15, 2018, 9:32 [IST]
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