For nearly five tight, tense and terrific hours, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer traded the lead, playing on and on until an unprecedented fifth-set tiebreaker was required to settle their memorable Wimbledon final.
In the end, it was Djokovic who emerged victorious, coming back to edge Federer 7-6 (7/5), 1-6, 7-6 (7/4), 4-6, 13-12 (7/3) and become the first man in 71 years to take home the trophy from the All England Club after needing to erase championship points.
“Unfortunately in these kinds of matches, one of the players has to lose,” Djokovic said. “It’s quite unreal.”
He claimed his fifth Wimbledon title and second in a row.
This triumph also earned Djokovic his 16th grand slam trophy overall, moving him closer to the only men ahead of him in tennis history: Federer owns 20, Rafael Nadal has 18.
“I gave it all I had,” Federer said.
He has ruled grass courts since the early 2000s; he has won Wimbledon eight times dating to 2003, and this was his record 12th appearance in the title match.
But Djokovic is now 3-0 against Federer in Wimbledon finals and 4-0 against him in five-setters anywhere.
