Wimbeldon Day 13 - Djokovic Beats Federer In Wimbledon Epic

In one of Wimbledon’s all time classic’s Novak Djokovic won his first Grand Slam for over a year, ending a run of three straight defeats in major finals.

He did it in the most dramatic way possible and at the expense of eight times Champion Roger Federer, who played his part in what is sure to go down as one of the greatest matches in Wimbledon men’s history.

Djokovic Claims His Second Wimbledon Title 

From the first point till the last 3hours and 56 minutes later the standard was barely believable. A total of 143 winners compared to 56 unforced errors throughout a pulsating match told the story of the vast quality on show.

But it wasn’t just the sheer brilliance which made Djokovic’s 6-7 (7) 6-4 7-6 (4) 5-7 6-4 victory so memorable it was also the drama of it. After two thrilling tie breaks in sets one and three the Serb finally found himself on the brink of victory leading by two sets to one and 5-2 in the forth.

A match point came and went after a Federer serve was originally called out but on review the dependable hawk-eye system overruled and allowed the Swiss to escape.

The chants of “Roger! Roger!” from a crowd craving a fifth set helped inspire an extraordinary Federer revival as he recovered from the brink of defeat to level the match at two sets all.

Djokovic probably didn’t know it but at that point he was a few points away from becoming the first male player in history to lose a Wimbledon final from match point up. Luckily for him he’ll now probably never find out what that feels like instead he celebrated his seventh Grand Slam title with a team led by Coach Boris Becker who now sits one behind Djokovic with six majors to his name.

"After losing the fourth set it wasn't easy to go on and win the fifth set, I don't know how I did it," Djokovic said after the match "This is the best tournament in the world and the one I always wanted to win so to be able to compete at such a high level I am so grateful."

At 32 this was clearly Federer’s best chance to claim an unprecedented 18^th Slam on his cherished Centre Court. A victory in his ninth Wimbledon final would have been a remarkable achievement, even by his standards, after many wrote him off following his second round defeat last year. Nevertheless no one can deny that it has been a privilege to watch Federer back at his vintage best over the past fortnight.

For five sets he went toe to toe with Djokovic, the man renowned for his supreme fitness and resilient resolve. The tactics from Federer and his coach, childhood hero Stefan Edberg, were spot on. There was even room for the occasional “chip and charge” and serve, volley - who said the game is all from the baseline?    

The first set was one of few chances, which was largely down to both players dominance on serve. Out of the two Djokovic looked the player most likely to make a break through and launched an early assault on the Federer backhand targeting it whenever possible.

However Federer was too wise for such a simplistic tactic and kept the points short by approaching the net on numerous occasions. The Swiss saved the only break points of the set in the twelfth game, which also happened to be set points, before taking a gripping tie break 9-7

Djokovic’s character was being put through the stiffest of tests but he came through it like a champion, breaking the Federer serve for the first time in the fourth game of the second set before cunningly closing in to level the match at a set a piece.

It was a contest dominated by both players impeccable serving, Federer led the way with a first serve percentage of 85% in the third set; Djokovic wasn’t far behind finding his mark 83% of the time, another tie break was inevitable.

That was the cue for the poised pendulum to swing back towards Djokovic. After taking the third he raced ahead in the fourth and was a game away from the title, only to be denied by the relentless Federer who reeled off a run of five games in a row to force a deciding final set.

Serving first, Djokovic did everything in his power to try a regain the upper hand and finally managed to shake of the demons which had prevented him winning his last three Slam finals.

He made his move in the tenth game of the set where on Championship point Federer struck his final backhand into the clutches of the net to end his robust challenge. Djokovic on the other hand could celebrate what he later described as his “most special victory” it would be no surprise if it was also his most memorable.