Djokovic Leaves Federer Heart-Broken After Epic Finale

The Swiss squanders two match points on his serve in the fifth set, loses for the third time to the Serbian in a summit clash at SW19

- N. Sudarshan

Novak Djokovic, despite having been a four-time champion, has never quite felt loved at Wimbledon. All he had earned was grudging admiration. On Sunday, he gave the crowd at SW19, and the world at large, another chance to reassess that relationship with a performance for the ages to defeat eighttime winner Roger Federer 76(5), 1-6, 7-6(4), 4-6, 13-12(3) and clinch his fifth crown and 16th Major overall.

In the battle of wills that lasted four hours and 55 minutes, Djokovic rose from the dead during the nearly two-hour final set, saving two match points with Federer serving at 8-7. The first was a great forehand pass while the second was a Federer error offa deep Djokovic forehand.

Then at 11-11, he fended off two break points — the second with a daring charge to the net — to drag the set to the newly introduced fifthset tiebreaker. Once there, it seemed like familiar territory, for he had won the two earlier tiebreakers, as he scampered home losing just three points.

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