Down the years there has been no shortage of enthralling battles to decide the destination of the Wimbledon Gentlemen’s Singles Championship, but nothing in recent memory could match the cascade of brilliance produced by the defending champion Novak Djokovic and, to only a slightly lesser extent, Roger Federer as they duelled for the most treasured prize in the sport.
Djokovic won 7-6(1), 6-7(10), 6-4, 6-3 in two hours and 56 minutes, needing only four sets this time against the opponent he defeated in five sets a year ago, but this was a triumph carved out as the underdog in the affections of the Centre Court audience. Djokovic is respected as the world No.1 and the man defending the Wimbledon crown (the first to manage this, incidentally, since Federer himself in 2007), but he was not accorded the adoration lavished on Federer, Wimbledon’s seven-time winner.
So there was much for the 28-year-old Serb to overcome and it was enormously to his credit that he did so with such skill and determination, particularly after dropping the second set in a protracted tie-break, having held seven set points. Even when a rain delay offered a tiring Federer a much-needed breather early in the third set, Djokovic tightened his grip, upped his level of commitment and, as even the most ardent Federer supporters in the crowd acknowledged, was the man who deserved to claim his third Wimbledon.
Federer himself certainly thought so, and said so at the awards ceremony: “Novak played great today, also in the last two weeks, and also last year and the year before that. Today he was tough on the bigger points and at the end he was rock solid. I’m sure he still has many more great years ahead of him.”
Djokovic needed to be defensive at the start against a 33-year-old opponent who came out of the blocks like a sprinter and broke for a 4-2 lead. But he did the crucial thing by capturing the Federer serve in the next game and, with Centre Court in raptures at the breathtaking skill and quality of the exchanges, Federer missed two set points before the set needed to be decided by a tie-break.
During the rain delay I got my thoughts together, went back to basics and played a really, really good match
The opening point of this produced the shot of the afternoon as Djokovic ran down a ball which had barely cleared the net and jabbed it away into the deepest corner of Federer’s court. A disbelieving Swiss never got over that one and salvaged just one point from the tie-break.
The tension and the glorious level increased, if anything, in the second set. Federer missed a couple of break points which would have put him 4-2 up, then Djokovic’s response to a set point was an untypically careless forehand error. So it came to a second tie-break – and what a thriller it turned into.
Federer, to mounting joy from his fans, fended off six more set points before storming back to win it by 12 points to 10 with the sweetest of volleys. Even a phlegmatic former champion like Stefan Edberg was on his feet in the Federer box roaring his encouragement.
There could be no greater praise for Djokovic than the way he put that potentially morale-shattering setback behind him to resume the assault, though he needed a glaringly over-hit forehand from Federer to pull off the early service break in the third set before the contestants were forced off court for 20 minutes by rain.
On resumption Djokovic motored into a two sets to one lead with mounting confidence. Now the outcome was inevitable. Federer, of course, battled to the end but struggled to hold serve – unsuccessfully in the fifth game and then again, with Djokovic 5-3 ahead, he had no answer to the Serb’s power and confidence.
After an arms-raised celebration which contained an element of defiance, Djokovic knelt to kiss the turf before repeating his tradition of plucking a blade of grass and chewing on it, something, he said, which was a throwback to his childhood dreams of winning Wimbledon.
Djokovic paid tribute to Federer’s “amazing tennis”, adding: “I knew he would not drop his level too much and he would make me earn every point. He’s not going to lose – I'm going to have to win if I want to lift the trophy.
“The second set tie-break was frustrating, obviously, not being able to close it out. I knew I could not let this happen against Roger in the final of Wimbledon. But I managed to regroup and during the rain delay got my thoughts together, went back to basics and played a really, really good match after that. Even though this is my third title here, it feels like the first.
“I’m 28. I feel good. I don’t feel old. Hopefully I have many more years in front of me. I’m going to try to push my own limits and see how I can really go.
In the meantime, Djokovic revealed, he planned to celebrate the first anniversary of his wedding, which coincided with Sunday's final. “Ever since I got married and became a father I haven’t lost many matches. I won many tournaments. I suggest that to every player: get married, have kids, let’s enjoy this.”
