Federer makes Grand Slam history
By Dave James, 6 Jul 2009 Dave James is a Roar Rookie
- Tagged:
- Andy Roddick, Roger Federer, Tennis, Wimbledon
Roger Federer of Switzerland acknowledges the crowd after defeating Andy Roddick of U.S. in the men's final match on the Centre Court at Wimbledon, Sunday, July 5, 2009. (AP Photo/Julian Finney, pool)
Roger Federer made history overnight when he defeated a determined Andy Roddick 5-7 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (7-5) 3-6 16-14 to win a sixth Wimbledon title and claim a record 15th Grand Slam crown in a classic final.
But the 27-year-old Swiss second seed was given a huge fright by the American sixth seed who led by a set, had four set points in the second and didn’t drop serve until the final, heartbreaking game of the match.
In an extraordinary conclusion, the last set was the longest ever played in a men’s Wimbledon final and the match lasted almost four and a half hours.
Federer now has six Wimbledon titles, five US Opens, three Australian Opens and a French Open trophy, and has surpassed Pete Sampras’s mark of 14 majors.
He will also reclaim his world number one spot from Rafael Nadal, who beat him in a five-set final here last year, on Monday.
“Andy (Roddick) played an unbelievable tournament. He’s a great guy but there has to be a winner sometimes,” said Federer.
“I didn’t hold the trophy last year. But it feels great after such a crazy match which could have gone on for a few more hours. My head is still spinning.
“Getting 15 Grand Slam titles is not something you dream about when you are a little boy, but I’ve had a great career.
“It’s been quite a month winning the French Open and Wimbledon back-to-back just like Bjorn Borg did.
“I don’t play to break records but it’s great to have it.”
Roddick, who has now lost three Wimbledon finals to Federer, was in tears at the end of the match.
“Roger is a true champion and he deserves all he gets,” said Roddick.
“I hope to come back one day and get my name up on that winners’ board.”
Sampras, and fellow greats Rod Laver and Bjorn Borg were on hand to watch Federer’s bid for history, as were Hollywood giants Woody Allen and Russell Crowe, such was the attraction of the Centre Court blockbuster.
Federer, in a record seventh straight Wimbledon final and 20th Grand Slam title match, saw Roddick save four break points in the 11th game of the opening set and he immediately paid a heavy price.
The Swiss went wide with a crosscourt drive, which put him set point down, and then repeated the error to hand the American the opener 7-5.
Roddick, whose only Grand Slam title came at the 2003 US Open, lost the 2004 and 2005 finals here to Federer, just two of his 18 defeats in 20 career meetings with the world number two.
But on Sunday he wisely adopted the same game plan he employed in his semi-final win over Britain’s Andy Murray, a powerful mix of trademark big groundstrokes punctuated by regular visits to the net.
Serve again dominated the second set before Roddick stretched to a 6/2 lead, and four set points, in the tiebreaker but Federer fought back and levelled the final when the American unleashed a wild backhand.
Roddick was now under siege, saving a break point in the sixth game of the third set before another tiebreaker was required.
Federer went to three set points, two of which Roddick saved, but the Swiss opened up a two sets to one lead when a Roddick service return fell comfortably into his hitting zone and he despatched a fierce forehand winner.
Roddick, playing in his first Grand Slam final since the 2006 US Open, refused to surrender and broke Federer to lead 3-1 in the fourth set on his way to levelling the final.
Federer again failed to convert a break point in the second game of the decider before he was forced to fight off two on his own serve in the 17th game.
But eventually Roddick, always having to chase the game, wilted in the 30th game of the decider when he ballooned a weary forehand long.
ROGER FEDERER (SUI)
World ranking: 2
Birthdate: Aug 8, 1981
Birthplace: Basel, Switzerland
Residence: Bottmingen, Switzerland
Height: 6’1″ (185 cm
Weight: 187 lbs (85 kg)
Plays: Right-handed
Turned Pro: 1998
Career singles titles: 60
Grand Slam singles titles: 15 – Australian Open (2004, 2006, 2007); French Open (2009); Wimbledon (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009); US Open (2004,
2005, 2006, 2007, 2008)
Career prize money: $US49,460,634 ($A62.55 million)
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Roger Federer of Switzerland acknowledge the crowd after defeating Andy Roddick of U.S. in the men's final match on the Centre Court at Wimbledon, Sunday, July 5, 2009. (AP Photo/Julian Finney, pool)
- Explore:
- Andy Roddick, Roger Federer, Tennis, Wimbledon
July 6th 2009 @ 8:09am
Spiro Zavos said | July 6th 2009 @ 8:09am | Report comment
I listened to the great final on the radio in bed. The commentary on the BBC World Service was tremendous. you had the feeling of being there. It was in a way more vivid than watching it on the television. On radio, and I’m sure on television and live, this was the greatest Wimbledon final of them all. Roger Federer broke the service of Andy Roddick just once in the match. But that was the vital time to give him game, set and match in the final set.
July 6th 2009 @ 8:23am
Brett McKay said | July 6th 2009 @ 8:23am | Report comment
As if it was ever in doubt, Federer is most certainly a great of the game. That said, you can’t help but feel for Andy Roddick, who has basically played the perfect tourament. It’s still a surprise to me that a player like Roddick, who has been in and around the top 10 for ever (or so it seems), but only has one major to his name. Perhpas Roddick is to Federer and Nadal what Jim Courier was to Sampras and Agassi??
July 6th 2009 @ 12:01pm
Benjamin Conkey said | July 6th 2009 @ 12:01pm | Report comment
That second set tie-break is the reason Federer is a champion. He was probably the only one, who believed he could come back from 6-2 down. He continues to surprise. We all knew he had a great serve, but to launch 50-odd aces is unbelievable.
The interesting thing is that Roddick didn’t choke. When he lost that second set I was expecting Federer to run away with it. But Roddick was superb..and it’s such a shame that he couldn’t win.
In the end, Fed just wanted it too much. He won 10 more points in the match…which is surprising..given how close the score was and given..he didn’t break Roddick’s serve until the very last game.
I wonder if anyone else noticed how angry he was when Federer said “I know how you feel” in his speech? I swear Roddick said something like..”No you don’t…You’ve won 6 Wimbledon’s”…
July 6th 2009 @ 12:08pm
Chop said | July 6th 2009 @ 12:08pm | Report comment
Hi Conks, I laughed when I heard Roddick say that. I do feel sorry for Roddick, but saying that I would’ve felt sorry for whoever lost that match. The last two Wimbledon finals have been something to behold. I just wish there was more tennis on Grass.
July 6th 2009 @ 12:39pm
ohtani's jacket, said | July 6th 2009 @ 12:39pm | Report comment
That was a fantastic performance from Roddick and I thought he deserved it more than Federer.
Personally, I think there should be a fifth set tiebreaker at Wimbledon, because I don’t think Federer truly broke Roddick. It was a sad end realising Roddick couldn’t play anymore and I don’t think anyone should lose a final like that.
Having said that, Roddick fell apart in the second set tiebreaker and he had Federer on the ropes a number of times in the fifth. Roger served amazingly well.
I wonder how history wil judge his period from the 2008 Australian Open to the 2009 Aussie Open. I guess it depends on how many more Grand Slams Federer has left in him and whether Nadal can return to prominence.
July 6th 2009 @ 12:41pm
ohtani's jacket, said | July 6th 2009 @ 12:41pm | Report comment
Oh, and despite what people are saying, that wasn’t a classic Wimbledon final by any means.
I figure most people lost their patience in the fifth set.
July 6th 2009 @ 12:50pm
Benjamin Conkey said | July 6th 2009 @ 12:50pm | Report comment
Ohtani’s Jacket, I agree, but don’t you think it was weird that Federer couldn’t return Roddick’s serve? I know he kept serving at his body at well over 220kph..but Fed has handled it with ease in the past. Also it was weird that Federer served so many aces. I have a feeling the grass was playing so fast..and made it extremely difficult to return. Maybe the groundskeeper didn’t water the court enough.
I didn’t lose my patience! That was an amazing 5th set. Both players held their nerve…I didn’t think it was ever going to end.
July 6th 2009 @ 1:06pm
Brian said | July 6th 2009 @ 1:06pm | Report comment
I loved Roddick’s comment when Federer said he knows how he feels because of last year. Roddick joked, but yeah you had already won 5. I agree with Othani not exactly a classic final in that both guys relied on the serve. No Aggassi or Nadal winning nearly every point in general play. Having said that 15 Slams is amazing, better what we had than the 3 sets I thought we would get
July 6th 2009 @ 1:32pm
ohtani's jacket, said | July 6th 2009 @ 1:32pm | Report comment
There was an interesting graph during the match comparing Roddick’s serve with the previous times he’d played Federer in the final, and last night he was hitting his serves close to the “T” as opposed to outwide. He was also serving a fair few “body shots” that Federer barely managed to protect himself from. He definitely had a serving strategy and executed it extremely well.
The courts were dry this year and even faster than the previous few years. It was a classic serve and return contest, as opposed to a baseline struggle, which is something Federer mentioned in the press conference.
I felt bad for Roddick. Federer was trying to be gracious in the trophy ceremony, but how does a guy who’s won 15 Grand Slam titles and 6 Wimbledon titles console a guy who just wants to win another major?
July 6th 2009 @ 1:51pm
Guy_Chev said | July 6th 2009 @ 1:51pm | Report comment
OJ – Not an epic Wimbledon final? Are you serious? It had so many twists and turns:
1) Roddick won the first set – not many people would’ve been expecting that,
2) He should’ve won the second set, but Federer came back in an amazing piece of brilliance to save 4 set points – not many people would’ve expected that, even with Federer. It proved his class.
3) The fifth set went for about 90 minutes (the longest fifth set in Wimbledon history), it went to 16-14 and I for one thought Roddick had it considering Federer hadn’t broken his serve all match.
That to me is an epic final. I couldn’t take me eyes off the screen.
I’d be interested to see your thoughts on whether any of you thought Hawkeye was wrong on a couple of occassions? There were two times when Roddick challenged and got it wrong. But his reaction showed that he thought Hawkeye wasn’t accurate. And on one of those instances I thought the ball was shown to be out when Hawkeye called it in. Maybe it’s my eyesight, but it looked incorrect.