Defending champion: Djokovic wins third Wimbledon crown

LONDON:

Defending champion Novak Djokovic won a third Wimbledon title and a ninth Grand Slam crown on Sunday, ruthlessly shattering Roger Federer’s bid for a record eighth All England Club triumph.

World number one Djokovic won 7-6 (7/1), 6-7 (10/12), 6-4, 6-3 to add this year’s Wimbledon title to the Australian Open he captured in January.

It was a cathartic moment for Djokovic just a month after his heartbreaking French Open final defeat against Stan Wawrinka – a loss that denied him the only major title he has yet to win.



“It’s a big challenge playing against Roger. A lot of players of my generation have looked up to him and followed his lead,” said Djokovic who now has the same number of Wimbledon titles as coach Boris Becker who won his first 30 years ago.

Djokovic said, “I knew coming on the court that Roger is going to play like he always plays, at his best when it matters the most. He makes you work hard every single point.”

For 33-year-old Federer, it was a bitterly disappointing end to his bid to become the oldest Wimbledon champion of the Open Era.

The 17-time major winner has now gone three years since his last Grand Slam triumph, at Wimbledon in 2012.

“Novak played not only good today but the whole two weeks, the whole year, last year and the year before that,” said Federer. “I had my chances in the first set. I got lucky to win the second, had chances in the third. But he was better on the bigger points. He was rock solid, I didn’t play badly myself. That’s how it goes.”

Published in The Express Tribune, July 13^th, 2015.