Champ excited for shot at title
ROGER Federer is promising to summon the energy for one last assault after exacting sweet revenge over Rafael Nadal to drag himself into a record 12th Wimbledon final tonight (NT time).
Federer was left emotionally and physically spent after toppling his great rival 7-6 (7-3) 1-6 6-3 6-4 in an enthralling three-hour spectacle that left the captivated Centre Court crowd in awe.
Echoes of 2008 reverberated around the All England Club as Federer and Nadal wound back the clock in their much-anticipated first Wimbledon match-up in 11 years.
But unlike Nadal’s five-set victory in that epic encounter more than a decade ago, a match dubbed the greatest of all time, Federer reigned in another classic on Friday to set up a blockbuster final with world No.1 Novak Djokovic. “I’m very excited to say the least,” Federer said.
Less than a month shy of his 38th birthday, Federer is the second-oldest man to reach a Wimbledon final, after 39year-old Ken Rosewall in 1974, denying Nadal for the first time in five grand slam semi-finals between the pair. Federer and Djokovic, who beat Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut 6-2 4-6 6-3 6-2 in the first semi, will be clashing in the final for GOING by the number of strokes, it was the longest point ever recorded at Wimbledon.
And for Novak Djokovic (pictured), it went a long way towards putting him into another final.
After exchanging dozens of strokes during the third set of the third time on London’s hallowed grass after the Serb prevailed in two riveting title deciders in 2014 and 2015.
Looking to match Bjorn Borg’s tally of five Wimbledon crowns, Djokovic leads Federer 3-1 in grand slam finales, having also conquered the champion Swiss in the 2015 US Open showpiece.
Federer hasn’t beaten Djokovic in a major final since 2007 in New York, but will carry renewed confidence into the match after upstaging Nadal for only the fourth time in 14 grand slam encounters.
Chasing a ninth title at the All England Club and a 21st career major overall, Federer pressed hard for the first service break against Nadal.
He upped his tennis to insane levels deep in the opening set but so supreme was Nadal too that the eight-time champion had to pull out all the stops to twice fight back from mini break points down to steal the set in a tiebreaker.
Unable to sustain such extraordinary hitting, Federer had a mental dip in the second set, dropping serve to love in the fourth game with three sloppy unforced errors.
Nadal won the set but Federer hit back swiftly in the third. He broke Nadal for the first time after winning the point of the match with a breathtaking backhand volley in the fourth game. his semi-final match against Roberto Bautista Agut on Friday, Djokovic finally smacked a backhand down the line with the 45th shot of the rally to save a break point
The defending champion held serve and went on to win the match.
According to official statistics, the 45-stroke rally was the longest at Wimbledon since they started tracking point lengths in 2005.
But for Djokovic, the important part was the impact it had on a very closely-fought duel up until that stage.
“At one stage of the match, it could have gone (a) different way. Was very close in the third set,” said Djokovic, who faces Roger Federer in tonight’s (NT time) final as he goes for a fifth Wimbledon title.
“Couple of very long games when I broke his serve and he had some break points, a very long rally. I managed to make a winner down the line with a backhand. Obviously winning that game was crucial for me. It gave me more confidence and relief so I could swing more freely in the next games.”