ROGER FEDERER FLIES TO RECORD 8th WIMBLEDON WIN & 19th SLAM WITHOUT LOSING A SET

Written by: Staff on 16th July 2017

ROGER FEDERER FLIES TO RECORD 8th WIMBLEDON WIN & 19th SLAM WITHOUT LOSING A SET

epa06091383 Roger Federer of Switzerland hoists the championship trophy following his victory over Marin Cilic of Croatia in the men's final of the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, in London, Britain, 16 July 2017. EPA/NIC BOTHMA EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO COMMERCIAL SALES |

Federer flies to record eighth Wimbledon title without losing a set in entire tournament

By Ricky Dimon

Perfection led to a record on Sunday afternoon at the All-England Club.

Roger Federer won every single set he played during his run through the tournament and captured an unprecedented eighth Wimbledon title, capping it off by crushing Marin Cilic 6-3, 6-1, 6-4. The Swiss soared through a one-sided final and took advantage of a hobbled opponent to prevail after one hour and 41 minutes.

“I hoped to have a chance maybe one day to be in a Wimbledon finals and have a chance to win the tournament,” Federer reflected. “Winning eight is not something you can ever aim for, in my opinion…. I was just really a normal guy growing up in Basel, hoping to make a career on the tennis tour. I guess I dreamed, I believed, and really hoped that I could actually maybe really do it; to make it real. So I put in a lot of work, and it paid off.”

The 35-year-old made it seem like he was barely working hard from start to finish this fortnight. He got a second-set retirement from Alexandr Dolgopolov in round one and then erased six consecutive foes all in straight sets.

Cilic looked to be the toughest test of the tournament for Federer, and that proved to be the case for a while–well, for all of four games. Leading 2-1 in the opener, the 6’6” Croat got a look at a second serve on break point at 30-40 only to dump a backhand returned into the net. Federer eventually held and that momentum quickly propelled him to a break of his own for 3-2.

The 19-time Grand Slam champion consolidated the advantage to take the first set and promptly raced to a 3-0 lead in the second. That is when it started to fall apart emotionally for Cilic, who was in tears while getting tended to by the trainer and doctor for an apparent problem with foot blisters.

Roger Federer (R) of Switzerland celebrates winning against Marin Cilic (L) of Croatia during the Men’s final match for the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, in London, Britain, 16 July 2017. EPA/DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS

“It was just a feeling that I knew that I cannot give my best on the court,” the 2014 U.S. Open winner explained. “That I cannot give my best game and my best tennis, especially at this stage of my career, at such a big match. It was very, very difficult to deal with it. It didn’t hurt so much that it was putting me in tears. It was just that feeling that I wasn’t able to give the best.”

Even his best may not have been good enough. Federer’s scintillating form continued to the tune of 23 winners and only eight unforced errors. Cilic raised his level to something respectable in the third set, but Federer still cruised through it with one break of serve.

The world No. 5 clinched the title with his eighth ace of the match.

“(I) don’t want to put down his victory in any way,” Cilic assured, referring to his physical issues. “I mean, he deserved it completely. These things are part of the sport. Really congratulations to him and his team for everything he did; for another title here.”

Federer, meanwhile, is health personified in the aftermath of a few injury-plagued seasons.

“It’s incredible,” he commented. “I don’t know how much longer it’s going to last. I have no idea. But I just got to always remind myself that health comes first at this point. If I do that, maybe things are actually possible I didn’t think were.”

If 19 slams was thought to be impossible, then impossible is nothing.

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on twitter at @Dimonator.

Editors Note: it’s still sinking in. Roger did it again. He put on a performance for the ages.

I guess Nike is busy making a new hat that has a 19 on it.

Here’s a photo of Lovey’s hat that became a “relic of a collectable” a gem as Lynette would say. Roy, we are super excited for the whole Nike tennis team.

Ricola anyone? (LS)

Topics: 10sballs.com, Atp World Tour, Federer tennis, Federer vs Cilic, Grass tennis, Marin Cilic, Roger Federer, Sports, Tennis News, The Championships, Wimbledon 2017, Wimbledon Tennis

Follow 10SBALLS.COM on:

Facebook:

Twitter:

10sBalls Top Stories

In Case You Missed It

EUGENIE BOUCHARD NAMED 2018 TENNIS CANADA FEMALE PLAYER OF THE YEAR / EUGENIE BOUCHARD NOMMÉE JOUEUSE DE L’ANNÉE 2018 DE TENNIS CANADA

Tennis Canada announced on Wednesday that Eugenie Bouchard is the winner of the 2018 Excellence Awards in the Female Player of the Year and Singles Player of the Year categories.

TENNIS NEWS • CALIFORNIA CHAMPIONSHIPS • TOMMY HAAS, TAYLOR FRITZ, STEVE JOHNSON, MARDY FISH AND MORE

Time to get tickets to watch! Surly you have heard about The Largest Open Tennis Event in America!

TENNIS NEWS • RAFA NADAL CONFIRMS RETURN TO PRACTICE, EYES ABU DHABI EXHIBITION AND AUSTRALIAN SUMMER

According to Uncle Toni, Rafael Nadal was supposed to be back at practice on either Dec. 4 or 5. Well, better late than never!

Conchita Martínez prepara la temporada 2019 de Karolina Pliskova en Tenerife

Española y checa ya trabajaron juntas durante el pasado Open de Estados Unidos

ALEJANDRO’S FAVORITE PHOTOS FOR 10SBALLS FROM SOME OF THIS YEAR’S TOURNAMENTS

Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia hits a forehand to Kaia Kanepi of Estonia during her second round match at the Nature Valley International tennis tournament in Eastbourne, Great Britain, on Tuesday, June 26, 2018.