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Djokovic beats Federer in Wimbledon epic to win fifth title

By Martyn Herman

 

Tennis - Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - July 14, 2019 Serbia's Novak Djokovic with the trophy as he celebrates winning the final against Switzerland's Roger Federer REUTERS/Andrew Couldridge

 

LONDON (Reuters) - Novak Djokovic again proved the toughest nut for Roger Federer to crack, repelling all the Swiss threw at him in an epic duel to win a fifth Wimbledon crown in the longest singles final in the tournament's 133-year history on Sunday.

 

The indefatigable 32-year-old withstood almost five hours of Federer brilliance, dredging his tank of mental and physical fortitude to prevail 7-6(5) 1-6 7-6(4) 4-6 13-12(3) in the first Wimbledon singles final decided by a tiebreak.

 

Serving for the match at 8-7 in a cliffhanger fifth set, Federer, three weeks before his 38th birthday, seemed poised to become the oldest man to win a Grand Slam singles title in the professional era and avenge back-to-back losses to Djokovic in the 2014 and 2015 Wimbledon finals.

 

But it was a case of so near yet so far as defending champion Djokovic, who must have felt he was playing most of the 15,000 fans as well as the 20-time Grand Slam champion over the net, fought off two match points before going on to snatch a 16th Grand Slam title.

 

Djokovic, who now leads Federer 26-22 head-to-head, is the first player since Bob Falkenburg in 1948 to win a Wimbledon men's singles final having saved a match point and he described his victory as the "most mentally demanding" match he had ever been involved in.

 

Quite a statement for the sport's ultimate warrior.

 

Nothing could separate the players in an intoxicating climax played in a soccer-like atmosphere and the match was already longer than Federer's 2008 epic defeat by Rafael Nadal when Wimbledon's new rule stipulating a deciding-set tiebreak at 12-12 kicked in.

 

Both players looked out on their feet but, as he did in the day's two other tiebreaks, top seed Djokovic proved more steadfast.

 

A sublime backhand left Federer swishing at air to put the Serbian 6-3 ahead. There was confusion as Djokovic's first match point was replayed after a Hawkeye intervention.

 

But there was no escape for a weary Federer who framed a forehand so badly the ball almost ended in Row Z, ending four hours 57 minutes of unforgettable drama.

 

It was a crushing blow for Federer who struck 94 winners to Djokovic's 54 but did not take his chances. As well as the match points he also had a set point in the third.

 

Djokovic is now level with Bjorn Borg in fourth spot on the all-time list of men's winners at Wimbledon and is only four Slams behind Federer, and two shy of Nadal.

 

"You have to keep reminding yourself that you're there for a reason and that you are better than the other guy," Djokovic said, when asked how he had pulled victory out of the fire.

 

"I'm just obviously thrilled and overjoyed to be sitting here as a winner. I was one shot away from losing the match. This match had everything. It could have gone easily his way.

 

"I think this was the most exciting and thrilling final I have ever been part of."

 

FOREHAND MISTAKE

Federer held serve to stay alive seven times in the decider.

 

Djokovic's nerve failed him at 7-7 when he double-faulted on his way to dropping serve.

 

Victory was in the palm of Federer's hand at 40-15 and the frenzied crowd were preparing their salute.

 

But Federer hit an edgy forehand out on his first matchpoint, then left the door ajar on his second and Djokovic whipped a forehand past him at the net.

Eight service holds then sent the match into the tiebreaker which, almost inevitably, Djokovic dominated.

 

"It was a great match, it was long, it had everything. Novak, congratulations, man, that was crazy," Federer said on court, disguising the heartache he must have felt.

 

Federer was the more threatening player in the sizzling opening set but failed to convert the one break point on offer when he missed a bread-and-butter forehand in the fourth game.

 

He then led 5-3 in the tiebreak but a succession of loose strokes allowed Djokovic to snatch it.

 

After the intensity of the first set, the second was a let-down as Djokovic went flat, winning only 12 points.

 

He re-focussed but with Federer winning around 80 percent of first-serve points it felt like Djokovic was hanging on.

 

Federer had a set point when Djokovic served at 4-5 but again his failure to convert came back to bite him.

 

Djokovic led 5-1 in the ensuing tiebreak and although Federer hit back to 5-4, the top seed capitalised on more errors by the Swiss to restore his one-set lead.

 

Federer finally dropped serve after nearly three hours of perfection on his delivery but it did not matter as he had more or less wrapped up the fourth set by then.

 

(Reporting by Martyn Herman; editing by Clare Fallon)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-07-15

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[Basil B]

Kind of got overshadowed by other sporting events in the UK...

[gjoo888]

2 hours ago, Basil B said:

Kind of got overshadowed by other sporting events in the UK...

Odd that they scheduled Wimbledon, the Grand Prix and the Cricket World Cup all for the same weekend. I watched the tennis, great match.

Edited July 15, 2019 by gjoo888

[Basil B]

11 minutes ago, gjoo888 said:

Odd that they scheduled Wimbledon, the Grand Prix and the Cricket World Cup all for the same weekend. I watched the tennis, great match.

I watched the F1 then the Cricket, both very exciting especially the last half hour of the cricket when we had to average 3 runs a ball to come back to draw then the super over(s).

[spidermike007]

I am going to start a thread on this topic. This epic match was 4 hours and 57 minutes. Which brings me to my point. Is the women's game an illegitimate sport? They demand equal pay for best of three set matches. It seems to me that at a minimum, they should be best of five sets, at least for the slams. The pathetic Williams-Halep match was 56 minutes. That is 56 minutes, compared to 297 minutes for the mens! Is that even bordering on fair? A few male players have mentioned this in the past, and they were absolutely excoriated for having the temerity to mention it! I think most women players would be on an IV drip in the hospital after just four sets. The claim to be equal. OK, show us. You want equal pay? Play an equal match.

 

So, I suggest since the average woman's match is half the time, they take half the prize winnings, as before, and spread the rest of the prize money amongst qualifiers and first round players, who really need to money to cover the expenses of touring. Or, start playing five set matches. 

 

It is time for the women in tennis to man up! This is unfair, and I would even say this is bordering on a criminal enterprise. 

[Jonnapat]

Time for the Wimbledon crowd to go back in time and stop the partisan cheering and booing at one of the participants. 

For me a great tennis match was spoiled somewhat by crowd behaviour against Djokovic who has yet again proved to be a great champion beating Federer in all 3 Wimbledon finsls they have contested. Respect deserved. 

[Lucius verus]

The weekend results will again raise the question of women's tennis being overrated and grossly over paid.

The men played far more games in the fifth set than the women played in their entire match. An epic 58 minutes against almost 5 hours.

McEnroe said  the top women wouldn't beat the man ranked 700 on ATP tour. I thought he was being generous. The man ranked 1000th (lowest ranking) would beat Kerber, Halep or Williams in straight sets.

The two women interviewing McEnroe were shocked and the pathetic anchorman inbetween them was almost crying.

Edited July 15, 2019 by Lucius verus

[BobBKK]

57 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

I am going to start a thread on this topic. This epic match was 4 hours and 57 minutes. Which brings me to my point. Is the women's game an illegitimate sport? They demand equal pay for best of three set matches. It seems to me that at a minimum, they should be best of five sets, at least for the slams. The pathetic Williams-Halep match was 56 minutes. That is 56 minutes, compared to 297 minutes for the mens! Is that even bordering on fair? A few male players have mentioned this in the past, and they were absolutely excoriated for having the temerity to mention it! I think most women players would be on an IV drip in the hospital after just four sets. The claim to be equal. OK, show us. You want equal pay? Play an equal match.

 

So, I suggest since the average woman's match is half the time, they take half the prize winnings, as before, and spread the rest of the prize money amongst qualifiers and first round players, who really need to money to cover the expenses of touring. Or, start playing five set matches. 

 

It is time for the women in tennis to man up! This is unfair, and I would even say this is bordering on a criminal enterprise. 

The top 5 women players could not beat the top 1000 men's. 56 minutes and equal pay?  crazy! 

anyway back on-topic Federer actually outplayed D but was very poor at tie-breakers - such a shame and he did look tired.

[spidermike007]

5 hours ago, BobBKK said:

The top 5 women players could not beat the top 1000 men's. 56 minutes and equal pay?  crazy! 

anyway back on-topic Federer actually outplayed D but was very poor at tie-breakers - such a shame and he did look tired.

Unfortunately, Federer made alot of uncharacteristic unforced errors. But, he was playing against a Djokovic in absolutely top form. It was a match between two of the greatest players in history. How long will it be, once the top three exit the stage, until we have another player as dominant as any of them have been? 20, 18, and 16 singles grand slams each! That is crazy. 

[johnnysunshine]

Both players won big time because they are both amazing...end of story!

[Skeptic7]

That Fed is amazing. Ageless wonder. Played well and effortlessly. Both looked fresh after the marathon, but Fed is close to 40! He's still #3 in the world and made short work of #2 in the previous round. A winner despite the defeat. 

[JemJem]

What a great match it was, man !

 

I was rooting for Federer but I felt like standing up and applauding, in my living room, the moment Djokovic won the match. Saving 2 match points on Federer's serve, and winning a match, where, from the beginning to the end, maybe 90 percent of the crowd was clearly and loudly cheering for Federer ! Wow ! His interesting, sarcastic smile towards the crowd at the end was epic ????

 

Having said all that, I really want Federer to win at least one more Grand Slam till he retires. It won't be easy ????

[nauseus]