Image Credit: Scroll.in
By Lee Clow
14 July 2019 | Wimbledon
Novak Djokovic saved two championship points and won a historic final-set tie-break to defeat eight-time champion Roger Federer and claim his fifth Wimbledon title and 16th Grand Slam.
Novak Djokovic has won the 2019 Wimbledon title after beating rival Roger Federer in the final 7-6 (7-5), 1-6, 7-6 (7-4), 4-6, 13-12 (7-3). The match up will certainly be called a classic in the history books and will be remembered for its epic 4 hour and 57-minute contest between two of the greatest players of all time.
After a memorable semi-final between two of the greats, Federer and Nadal, the final was highly anticipated, and it certainly didn’t disappoint. Djokovic was looking to win his 16th Grand Slam whilst Federer was looking to extend his record Grand Slam wins to 21 where he would match Martina Navratilova's success in women's singles.
The first set was fascinating to watch with both players starting well. After 49 minutes and nothing to split the pair, the set was to be decided by a tie break. During the tie break it looked like it was going to be Federer who would take the first set as he led Djokovic 5-3, however the Serb fought back to win four points in a row to take the initiative after 58 minutes.
In similar fashion to the semi-final against Nadal, Federer brushed Djokovic aside in the second set winning it comfortably 1-6.
After a huge drop off in the second set, Djokovic re-engaged in the third set and gave Federer a tough test. Once again, the set went to a tie break, but this time Djokovic took control and lead 5-1 after several unforced errors from his Swiss opponent.
In the fourth set it seemed it was Djokovic’s chance to win the match due to Federer’s poor record in a Grand Slam final when being two sets to one down. Despite this, the World Number One cracked under the pressure and let his counterpart even things up winning the set 4-6.
The final set was certainly one to remember and will go down in the history of Wimbledon finals. A staggering 24 games were played in the final set eventually leading to a dramatic final tie break to determine the winner. It was the current number one who proved the stronger and more consistent on the pressure points to conclude a memorable encounter.
After a record 4 hours and 57-minute final had been played it was Djokovic who was awarded with the Wimbledon trophy, retaining his title once again as he did during 2014 and 2015. Djokovic’s win now takes his Grand Slam titles to 16, two behind Rafael Nadal and 4 behind the leader Roger Federer.
After the game, the winner of Wimbledon simply said. "It's quite unreal,"
His opponent Federer was quick to congratulate the Serb on his victory. "It was a great match, it was long, it had everything. Novak, congratulations, man, that was crazy."
What’s next?
With Wimbledon done for another year, the focus for these players will be for the next major Grand Slam, the US Open. Djokovic will again challenge to retain his title for the third consecutive year at Wimbledon next year, but the other two legends of the game (Federer and Nadal) may have something to say about that.
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