Federer wins 8th Wimbledon title
Swiss great beats Marin in straight sets to win record eighth title at All England Club
Switzerland’s Roger Federer kisses the trophy after beating Croatia’s Marin Cilic in the men’s singles final of the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club in London on Sunday. Federer won the match 6-3, 6-1, 6-4 to clinch a record eighth Wimbledon title.
London, July 16: Roger Federer won a record eighth Wimbledon title and became the tournament’s oldest champion Sunday with a straightsets victory over injury-hit Marin Cilic who dramatically broke down in tears midway through the final.
Federer claimed his 19th Grand Slam title 6-3, 6-1, 64 and at 35 is Wimbledon’s oldest men’s winner of the modern era, succeeding Arthur Ashe, who was almost 32 when he won in 1976.
However, Swiss superstar’s 11th Wimbledon final, and 29th at the majors, will also be remembered for the moving sight of the popular Cilic breaking down in tears after slipping 3-0 behind in the second set.
The seventh seeded Croatian, the 2014 US Open champion, sobbed inconsolably and buried his head in his towel as his title dream slipped away.
He had his left foot taped at the end of the second set but it was in vain as Federer became the first player since Bjorn Borg in 1976 to win Wimbledon without dropping a set in the entire tournament.
“He’s a hero,” Federer said of his opponent as he received the trophy.
Twelve months ago, Federer was defeated in five sets in the semi-finals by Milos Raonic and promptly shut down his season to rest a knee injury. “It’s disbelief I can achieve such heights. I wasn’t sure I would ever be here in another final after last year,” said Federer who turns 36 in three weeks’ time.
“I had some tough ones in the finals, losing two against Novak (Djokovic).
“But I always believed. I kept on believing and dreaming I could get back.
“Here am I today with the eighth. It’s fantastic, if you keep believing you can go far in your life.”
Cilic, who had spent four and a half hours more than Federer getting to the final, said retiring with his injury was never an option. “I never give up in a match. I gave it my best — it’s all I can do,” said Cilic who was still emotional at the trophy presentation.
“I had an amazing journey here. I played the best tennis of my life. I really want to thank my team — they gave so much strength to me.” the FACTFILE
Name: Roger Federer (SUI)
World ranking: 5 (will rise to 3 on Monday)
Date of birth: Aug 8, 1981
Place of birth: Basel, Switzerland
Place of residence: Bottmingen, Switzerland Height: 6ft 1in (1.85m) Turned pro: 1998 Career singles titles: 93 Grand Slam titles: 19 (Australian Open 2004, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2017; French Open 2009, Wimbledon 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012, 2017; US Open 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008)
Career prize money: $107,326,692
Beneath a star-studded Royal Box where Prince William and wife Kate rubbed shoulders with actors Hugh Grant and Bradley Cooper, Cilic had his first break point in the fourth game.
It was saved by Federer and it was to be Cilic’s only glimmer of hope.
The trainer and doctor were summoned before Cilic hid his head in his towel in a desperate attempt to compose himself. Cilic dropped the set 6-1 and called a medical timeout to have his left foot bandaged and take a painkiller.
His discomfort was reflected in his statistics. Fourth seeds Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo clinched the men’s doubles title on Saturday with a 57, 7-5, 7-6 (7/2), 3-6, 13-11 win over Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic.
The final lasted a marathon 4 hours 41 minutes and was only the fourth Wimbledon men’s doubles final to go to five sets in the last 20 years.
The final set was the longest since 1992 when John McEnroe and Michael Stich defeated Jim Grabb and Richey Reneberg 19-17 in the decider. That final was also the longest men’s doubles championship match at Wimbledon lasting 5 hours 1 minute.
Meanwhile, Olympic champions Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina of Russia won their first Wimbledon women’s doubles title with a 6-0, 6-0 rout of Hao-Ching Chan and Monica Niculescu.