IT is hard enough to win a Wimbledon final in normal circumstances. Novak Djokovic has had to play his finals against great players on the road.
Perhaps he deserves extra credit in the record books. But what is indisputable is that he keeps climbing higher in them.
Sunday’s 7-6 (1), 6-7 (10), 6-4, 6-3 victory over Roger Federer, which gave Djokovic a third Wimbledon title and his ninth Grand Slam singles title, was not what most of the Centre Court crowd was craving.
Federer, one of the most beloved figures in sports, who will turn 34 next month, hit many a high note on his way to the final and in an extraordinary second-set tiebreaker in which he saved six set points to level the match.
Meanwhile, three years had passed since the Wimbledon champion’s trophy was last in her possession, so Serena Williams had some fun with it.
“At the beginning of the year, this is the one I really wanted to win,” Williams said. “So that was the first thing and the main thing on my mind.”
Winning Wimbledon – which Williams has now done six times, is normally a sufficient thrill on its own. And Saturday’s 6-4, 6-4 victory over GarbiñeMuguruza of Spain, made the 33-year-old Williams the oldest Wimbledon singles champion of the Open era