|
 With a sell-out crowd urging Federer to scale the same dizzy heights
he reached in eclipsing Britain's Andy Murray in Friday's
semi-final, Djokovic shrugged off losing a stomach-churning
second-set tiebreak to prevail 7-6(1) 6-7(10) 6-4 6-3.
After swiping away a forehand winner to end a two hour 56 minute
contest that crackled into life midway through but then fizzled out,
top seed Djokovic roared to the grey London sky before kneeling down
and nibbling some of the cherished turf.
"In the end when I finished the last point, I took out everything
that was in me," Djokovic, who has rebounded magnificently from
losing the French Open final to Stanislas Wawrinka and missing out
on a full set of majors, said.
"It's a great achievement. Even though it's the third title here, it
feels like the first.
"Obviously, I was disappointed and heartbroken (to lose the French),
but if there is one thing that I learned in the sport it's to
recover fast and to leave things behind and move on."
For the second year running in the All England Club's showpiece
final Federer played majestically but could not break down the
defenses of the game's ultimate warrior.
Twelve months ago he pushed the Serb to five sets. This time the
Swiss maestro's challenge fizzled out in anti-climactic fashion and
Djokovic dominated the third and fourth sets of his 17th grand slam
final with clinical precision.
THREE TITLES
World number one Djokovic now has three Wimbledon titles, the same
as his coach Boris Becker, and moves above the likes of Andre
Agassi, Jimmy Connors, Ivan Lendl and Ken Rosewall in the all-time
list of grand slam collectors.
At 28, he already has nine majors to his name and, despite the
life-changing journey into married life and fatherhood, his hunger
for battle remains as voracious as ever.
Nearly six years older, Federer had hoped to become the oldest man
to win the Wimbledon title in the professional era.
But, after saving seven set points and coming through a pulsating
second-set tiebreak that will go down as one of the tournament's
classics, his well of inspiration ran dry.
He will come again, that much is guaranteed, but his chances of
winning a record-extending 18th grand slam title are receding.
"You know, I still think I had a great tournament," Federer told
reporters. "You can have good tournaments without winning, as well.
I still won six matches, lost one. The ratio still remains very
good.
"But of course you sort of walk away empty handed. For me a finalist
trophy is not the same. Everybody knows that."
[to top of second column] |
FIRST MOVE
Second seed Federer made the first move on Sunday, breaking for a
4-2 lead, only for Djokovic to hit back immediately.
Djokovic escaped at 5-6 when Federer held two set points and then
ran away with the tiebreak, winning it 7-1 as Federer's timing, so
sweet against third seed Murray, went off a fraction.
Sympathetic "aahhs" greeted Federer's mistakes and he looked in
trouble at 4-5 in the second set when Djokovic earned a set point
only to waft a loose forehand over the baseline.
The real drama was to come.
The final's second tiebreak was in Djokovic's pocket at 6-3 but
Federer summoned some magic, winning a hypnotic 26-stroke rally on
the way back to 6-6.
With the crowd on the edge of their seats Federer saved three more
set points, one when Djokovic slipped over, and then failed to take
one of his own before reeling off three points in a row to win it
12-10.
"It was frustrating obviously not to be able to close it out," said
Djokovic, who took his anger out by smashing his racket into his
shoes.
"I knew that I could not let this happen against Roger in the finals
of Wimbledon because it might be my last chance."
Instead of fretting over missed opportunities, Djokovic simply got
back to business and earned a break point at 1-1 by displaying his
freakish court-covering ability before delivering the coup de grace
with a deft drop shot.
Federer then blazed a forehand long and the momentum switched back
to Djokovic.
A weather interruption dampened Federer's fire still further and
once they returned to the court Djokovic eased through the third set
before breaking twice in the fourth.
(Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Ken Ferris)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
