Agence France Presse
London, July 12: It was the victory of the ‘Machine over Man’. Whatever, challenger Roger Federer threw at defending champion Novak Djokovic, it came back stronger as the Serb romped home in four sets to clinch his third Wimbledon singles crown here Sunday. In the process, he won his ninth Grand Slam title and ruthlessly shattered Federer’s bid for a record eighth All England Club triumph.
World No.1 Djokovic won 7-6 (7-1), 6-7 (10-12), 6- 4, 6-3 to add the Wimbledon title to the Australian Open he captured in January. The scorline however, doesn’t tell the full story, it never really does so. Federer was at his sublime best, but Djokovic was always a notch higher. After losing the second set tie-break, he simply raised his level to such an extent that at the end of the match, the Swiss had to say: “He played unbelievable today (Sunday).”
For the 33-year-old Federer, it was a bitterly disappointing end to his bid to become the oldest Wimbledon champion of the Open Era. The 17-time Major winner has now gone three years since his last Grand Slam triumph. But he had his chances.
In a rollercoaster rematch of last year’s final, he was 4-2 up in the first set and had two set points. Federer then had to save seven set points in the second set before bravely levelling the contest.
However, Djokovic, five years Federer’s junior, stepped on the gas and raced away to the title winning the next two sets on a canter.
