The No. 1 seed Djokovic, 32, captured his fifth Wimbledon crown and his 16th Grand Slam title overall, outlasting the 37-year-old Federer 7-6 (5), 1-6, 7-6 (4), 4-6, 13-12 (3). The fifth set, alone, which was decided by a 12-games-all seven-point tie break, lasted two hours.
For much of the match, it was Federer who seemed to be the better player on Centre Court. But in the end, although he was on top of most of the statistical categories – which one Twitter pundit likened to winning the policy debates and popular vote in a U.S. presidential election, but ultimately losing to the Electoral College count – statistics didn’t count for a thing.
The latest Djokovic-Federer clash had something for everyone. It was tense, it was brilliant, it was bold, it was baffling, it had star power. It had royalty, movie stars, dot.com titans and Hall of Famers watching from the Royal Box. At times, Federer’s wife, Mirka, could be seen – picked up by the BBC cameras – with her head buried in her hands, too nervous and unable to look up at the action down on the court. Other times, Djokovic’s mother, Dijana, was shown clutching a religious pendant with both hands, perhaps, seeking divine intervention. Interspersed, there was plenty of superior, high-quality play displayed by both superstars. Each took time looking for weaknesses in each other’s game. There was much creative shotmaking throughout by both Federer and Djokovic to appreciate. Long, back-and-forth rallies were plentiful and not uncommon.
At times, both played like they were the best player in the world. Djokovic is the current No. 1 and Federer is a longtime former No. 1, who is currently ranked third. In losing, Federer came close to winning. In the fifth set, he had two championship points on his racquet, serving for the match at 8-7, 40-15, and was unable to convert either of them into his ninth Wimbledon singles championship, which would have tied him with Hall of Famer Martina Navratilova. He won 36 games during the match to 32 for Djokovic. He hit 94 winners compared to 54 for Djokovic. He hit more aces, 25-10, converted seven of 13 break point chances and, more often than not, controlled many of the points until he didn’t.
A match for the ages…— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 14, 2019
The moment @DjokerNole retained his crown to become #Wimbledon champion for a fifth time after a historic men’s singles final#JoinTheStory pic.twitter.com/zDQlEBviMD
When he was asked during his post-match interview session what went wrong at the critical point of the championship match, Federer said simply, “One shot I guess. Don’t know which one to pick. Your choice.”
However, in the tightest moments of the match – the three tie-break deciders that came in the first, third and fifth sets – Djokovic reigned supreme. He proved more mentally fit and physically tougher. Meanwhile, Federer made some questionable decisions in each of the tie breaks, and each time, they came back to haunt him.
“I thought most of the match I was on the back foot,” Djokovic said during his news conference about beating Federer for the third time in a Wimbledon final. “I was defending. He was dictating the play. I just tried to fight and find a way when it mattered the most, which is what happened.”
In the end, on Djokovic’s championship point, Federer shanked a return high into the air – and it cost him dearly. The native of Belgrade, Serbia won the match and his fifth Wimbledon crown, not because he was necessarily the best player on Centre Court Sunday. Instead, Djokovic played the best when he needed to the most.
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| Roger Federer / Post-match news conference |
Federer was asked how his latest Grand Slam setback at Wimbledon compared to his epic 2008 loss to Rafael Nadal. “This one is more straightforward maybe in some ways because we didn’t have the rain delays, we didn’t have the night coming in and all that stuff,” he recalled. “But sure, epic ending, so close, so many moments. I mean, sure there’s similarities. But you’ve got to go dig, see what they are. I’m the loser both times, so that’s the only similarity I see.”
And what did Djokovic think of winning his 16th career major after being on the brink of defeat? “It was kind of a flashback,” he said, remembering that he saved two match points against Federer in the semifinals at the U.S. Open in both 2010 and 2011. “But look, in those kind of moments, I just try to never lose self-belief, just stay calm, just focus on trying to get the ball back, return, which wasn’t serving me very well today.”
Djokovic called his latest classic encounter with Federer, which was his fifth straight win over the Swiss star and fifth straight in Grand Slam play, “the most mentally demanding match” of his career. While he said that his nearly-six hour 2012 Australian Open final against Nadal was “the most physically demanding match” he’s ever played, against Federer Sunday, “mentally this was a different level because of everything.
“You need to be constantly playing well throughout five hours if you want to win a match like this. I guess there is an endurance part. But I think there is always this self-belief. You have to keep reminding yourself that you’re there for a reason and that you are better than the other guy.”
Photos: Courtesy of Wimbledon.com. Video: Courtesy of Wimbledon Twitter.
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