Federer was unable to respond, as Djokovic opened up a match point the game after and a crashing forehand victor sealed a clinical victory in two hours and 56 minutes. Still in his prime at the age of 28, Djokovic further enhanced his reputation as one of the greats of the game.
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“Whether I’m winning or losing, she’s always there”, Djokovic said. The fans were nearly unanimously on Federer’s side, especially with him trailing for most of the close match.
One forehand victor later, he did.
The world No. 1 was already a superstar but has been nigh on unbeatable since tying the knot with long-time girlfriend Jelena Ristic on July 12 previous year, just a week after he claimed his second title at the All England Club.
Though Federer came into Wimbledon as the higher seed, most pundits (like Vegas) had Djokovic as the favorite to win on Sunday.
World number two Federer, a 17-time grand slam champion, fell to a 7-6 (7-1) 6-7 (10-12) 6-4 6-3 defeat on Centre Court on Sunday. The 4th set was on serve until Game-5 when Federer netted twice allowing Djokovic to break serve.
“I still believe he can do it”, said Federer’s coach Stefan Edberg. “Everybody knows that”.
Federer took more risks and was more aggressive, but the steely Djokovic refused to bend, digging in and lifting his game whenever he had to in order to prevent his opponent from gaining the edge. He broke Federer right back in the seventh game and then held to knot the score.
He extended his record in Wimbledon semifinals to 10-0 with minimal fuss, having served with such consistent precision that the home hope could muster only one break point in the whole contest, and had, he said, proved a point.
“I think it’s normal because Roger is a champion on and off the court”. Against Djokovic he made 35 unforced errors, compared with 11 in defeating Murray.
There were smatterings of Federer brilliance, with some great smashes, some delicate drops and a number of angled winners, but for most of the time he was anchored at the baseline by the accuracy and ferocity of Djokovic’s ground strikes.
Djokovic had been ranked No. 1 for a year, and his only loss in his five tournaments before Wimbledon came against Stan Wawrinka in the French Open final. It was clear before and after the match that only the very best from Federer would be good enough to beat Djokovic.
He won the Australian Open in January, then was the runner-up at the French Open last month, denying him a career Grand Slam.
Over the past 20 Grand Slam tournaments, Djokovic has reached 15 finals, winning eight. He did so a year ago when most of Centre Court was backing Federer, emerging victorious in a five-set thriller. So quiet between points that pre-serve ball bounces could be heard, the crowd voiced a collective “awwwww” of lament after a fault by Federer or a mid-point “ooooh” of excitement when he conjured up something exquisite.
“It’s always a privilege to play against Roger, it’s one of the biggest challenges I can have”. Federer quickly swiped it away. I got broken very few times this tournament. Soon it became 5-5 in the first set, as if both were in a hurry to set the tone of the final by winning the first set.
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After all those missed opportunities in the set, Djokovic was clearly rattled, intensely castigating himself and appeared on the edge of becoming unhinged.
