Wimbledon 2019: Resilient Djokovic battles past Federer in longest ever singles final
In what was arguably one of the greatest Wimbledon finals of all time, defending champion Novak Djokovic displayed unbelievable mental strength to clinch his 5th title at the All England Club.
The World No.1 outlasted 8-time champion Roger Federer 7-6 (7/5), 1-6, 7-6 (7/4), 4-6, 13-12 (7/3) in an absolute marathon. The match was the longest ever Wimbledon final, beating the previous record set by Rafael Nadal and Federer back in 2008.
The crowd was on their feet, rooting for Federer to win, but the World No.1 saved two Championship points at 7-8 in the fifth set. Djokovic would go on to win the match in the first-ever final set tiebreaker at Wimbledon.
The Swiss maestro committed some unforced errors during the fifth set tiebreak to hand the Serb three match points. Another mistimed forehand sailed into the crowd to give Djokovic the victory.
Here's a look at the point that sealed the victory for the Serbian:
Djokovic continued his tradition of eating a handful of grass after the grueling match, proving that when it comes to bottle, there is simply no one on the same level as him.
The Serb has now equaled Bjorn Borg's tally of five Wimbledon titles and sits third on the all-time list. He also has notched up 16 Grand Slam titles, and is closing in on arch-rivals Nadal and Federer.
With age on his side, Djokovic can certainly surpass both of them to establish his reputation as the Greatest of All Time. With his victory last night, Djokovic also improved his head-to-head record against the Swiss to 26-22.
On the other hand, despite being shattered by the defeat, Federer was gracious as ever, congratulating Djokovic on a great performance. The Swiss also had an inspirational message for all 37-year-olds out there, but confessed that it would take time for him to recover from such a hard loss.
Next up is the US Open in August and Djokovic will once again be the firm favorite heading into Flushing Meadows.