Roger Federer of Switzerland (L) holds his winners trophy and Andy Roddick of the US holds his runners-up plate after their Gentlemen's Singles finals match at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, July 5, 2009. [Agencies]
WIMBLEDON, England: A year ago, Roger Federer left Centre Court a broken man after losing an epic five-set final, his Wimbledon title ripped away and his aura of invincibility shattered.
On Sunday, after another five-set marathon, Federer walked off as the holder of the most prestigious record in tennis, with the winner's trophy and No. 1 ranking back in his grasp and his reputation enhanced as arguably the greatest player of all time.
|
|
Federer served a career high 50 aces and overcame the resilient American 5-7, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5), 3-6, 16-14 to break the record of major titles he shared with Pete Sampras.
"I'm happy I broke the record here because this is always the tournament that meant the most to me," Federer said. "It definitely feels like coming full circle, starting it here and ending it here."
The match finally ended after 4 hours, 16 minutes of play when Federer broke for the first time all day, with Roddick missing badly with a forehand.
Federer jumped high in celebration, punched the air and whacked the net with his racket. Roddick tossed his racket to the side and the two men shared a hug at the net. Federer held up the trophy, kissed it and held it close to his chest.
"It's not really one of those goals you set as a little boy, but man, it's been quite a career and quite a month," said Federer, who saved four set points in the second-set tiebreaker to avoid falling behind 2-0 in sets. "It feels amazing, but this is not why I'm playing tennis to break all sort of different records. But it's definitely one of the greatest ones to have."
Turning to Sampras, Federer said: "Thanks very much for coming. I know it's a long way, but you're a member, man, we like to see you here. It's such a pleasure to play in front of such greats legends."
Roddick said: "Sorry Pete, I tried to hold him off."
The historic impact of the match hit home when Sampras arrived after the third game of the first set. Accompanied by his wife, Bridgette Wilson, he sat next to Spanish great Manolo Santana and a few seats from Laver and Borg. He wore sunglasses, a gray suit and light blue shirt and tie.
"In a way I still feel like we share (the record) because he was such a wonderful champion," Federer said of Sampras. "He still has one up against me here at Wimbledon. It's nice that he shows appreciation for what I'm doing."
Federer is third player in history to win six Wimbledon championships -- Sampras and William Renshaw each won seven.
