ROLLING BACK THE TEARS

On a day of pain, weeping and high emotion on Centre Court, Federer turned back the clock to prove he’s one for the ages

AT one point, it looked like there might not be a dry eye in the house.

Centre Court has long been a theatre of tears and this did not disappoint. It was the sight of his two sets of twins that seemed to set Roger off, but Marin Cilic had set the ball rolling way before then. In the absence of a competitive tennis match, at least we had a weepathon. Yet when eyes cleared, one thing was in plain sight. Roger Federer, stood with the gold trophy aloft, the greatest tennis player of all time. Roger Federer, his eighth Wimbledon title secure, one of the most talented sportsmen the world has seen. Roger Federer, his 19th Grand Slam victory proving to be nothing but a formality, a phenomenon. Never mind the Dr Who hullabaloo – and one of them was in the crowd – Federer is a sporting time lord. Don’t forget, he has played two Grand Slam tournaments this year and won them both. Federer turns 36 in three weeks’ time. In his 11th Wimbledon final he cantered over a hampered 28-year-old opponent officially ranked one notch below him in the world. If there had not been a dress code, he could have stayed in his kit for last night’s champions dinner and still got up confidently close to Garbine Muguruza for the first dance. The only threat to Federer was the slim chance he might get caught up in the pervading Wimbledon mood. That mood was one of celebration. They were here to lay garlands at the great man’s feet, defeat unthinkable, completely out of the question. So it proved. It was competitive only until Federer saved a break point in the fourth game. After that, it was a princely procession in front of the assorted royals. He is not alone among the sport’s finest, but Federer has always had that happy knack of getting better as a Slam progresses. Physically, it was the senior man who looked stronger. Stronger in that sinewy way of his. Cilic’s strength, physical or mental or both, became a focal point after he went 0-3 down in the second set. Suddenly, he was a sobbing mess, towel on head, shoulders heaving, doctors or maybe counsellors in attendance. It was bizarre. Few knew he had been suffering with a troublesome blister. An official medical timeout at the end of the second set, when Cilic had his left foot bandaged, seemed to do the trick momentarily. You cannot bandage the mind, though. Painful blister accepted, that the occasion got to Cilic was clear. Federer got to Cilic, that was also clear. Federer’s genius, his tactical variations – he served a 96mph ace – his whistleclean hitting, got to Cilic. On all levels, one beyond his control, the Croat was simply not up to the challenge. The 6-3 6-1 6-4 victory was a noncontest. In the grand scheme of Federer’s magnificence, that doesn’t matter. He did not drop a set at this Wimbledon, the first time that has been done in the men’s draw since Bjorn Borg in 1976, and when he limped away from these lawns after being beaten in last year’s semi-finals, many wondered if he would ever return, never mind return and win No.8. He was coy about the possibility of another, maybe the only person aware advancing years could be a factor. “Keep on believing and keep on dreaming and you can achieve what you want,” he said. “I hope I can come back and try to defend it.” As he breezed through this one, it is unimaginable he will not be back. And you would not back against No.9. Roger Federer – a phenomenon.

ROGER FEDERER claimed he was playing the best tennis of his life after winning a record eighth Wimbledon title – then warned he could keep going till he is 40. The “part-time” Swiss superstar became the oldest men’s singles Wimbledon champion in the professional era with his straight-sets destruction of