RICKY DIMON AND EVERYONE’S–PICK FOR MATCH OF THE YEAR: DJOKOVIC VS. FEDERER IN THE WIMBLEDON FINAL

Written by: Staff on 18th December 2014

RICKY DIMON AND EVERYONE'S--PICK FOR MATCH OF THE YEAR: DJOKOVIC VS. FEDERER IN THE WIMBLEDON FINAL

epa04302619 Roger Federer of Switzerland plays Novak Djokovic of Serbia in the men's singles final of the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, in London, Britain, 06 July 2014. EPA/SANG TAN / POOL |

You have Bjorn Borg vs. John McEnroe in 1980. You have Goran Ivanisevic vs. Patrick Rafter in 2001. You have Rafael Nadal vs. Roger Federer in 2008. You have Federer vs. Andy Roddick in 2009. And that’s just to name a few.

What more could you want? Answer: Federer vs. Novak Djokovic in 2014.

Needless to say, the gentlemen’s singles final at Wimbledon has a lot to live up to every year. And the 2014 showdown did not disappoint. Djokovic and Federer, playing amidst even loftier expectations of the crowd and the worldwide audience because of the classic head-to-head matchup, treated all witnesses–on Center Court, Henman Hill, or in front of televisions around the globe–to three hours and 56 minutes of scintillating tennis after which Djokovic emerged with a 6-7(7), 6-4, 7-6(4), 5-7, 6-4 triumph.

By the time it was over, the two legendary competitors had racked up absurdly impressive statistics. Federer fired 29 winners to just five double-faults and hit 75 winners compared to only 29 unforced errors. Djokovic finished with 13 aces, three double-faults, 68 winners, and 27 errors.

The thing about this one is, similar to the 2008 final between Federer and Nadal–it won’t be remembered for one primary reason (like the fourth-set tiebreaker between Borg and McEnroe, or Ivanisevic’s near-meltdown against Rafter before finally getting over the Wimbledon final hump, or the marathon fifth set contested by Federer and Roddick). This one was simply outstanding from start to finish, and just about every moment featured edge-of-your-seat drama.

Never was the tension hire than late in the fourth set, when Djokovic found himself on the brink of victory leading 5-2. The Serb, however, could not seal the deal on serve at 5-3 as Federer stormed back into the match by converting break point with a forehand winner at the end of an extended rally that left Djokovic sprawled on the lawn. Federer wrapped up the fourth on a five-game winning streak and never entirely relinquished the momentum until the absolute finish line.

Novak Djokovic of Serbia returns to Roger Federer of Switzerland in their men’s final of the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, in London, Britain, 06 July 2014. EPA/FACUNDO ARRIZABALAGA

Roger Federer of Switzerland returns to Novak Djokovic of Serbia in the men’s singles final of the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, in London, Britain, 06 July 2014. EPA/ANDY RAIN

The fifth set stayed on serve through nine games until Djokovic applied too much pressure on the Swiss’ serve when it mattered most and a netted backhand by Federer on break–and championship–point at 4-5, 15-40 brought a conclusion to a thriller that any unbiased tennis fan hoped would never end.

“I thought it had everything for fans to like,” Federer commented. “The swing of momentum in the first set, him coming back in the second, staying even in the third, all the back-and-forth in the fourth set, and then the drama of the fifth. I thought it was a great match and I enjoyed to be a part of it.

Novak Djokovic of Serbia returns to Roger Federer of Switzerland in the men’s singles final of the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, in London, Britain, 06 July 2014. EPA/SANG TAN / POOL

Roger Federer of Switzerland takes a fall against Novak Djokovic of Serbia in the men’s singles final of the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, in London, Britain, 06 July 2014. EPA/SANG TAN / POOL

“It’s just nice being in (the) Wimbledon finals, number one. Winning or losing, it’s always something special and something you’ll remember, even more so when the match was as dramatic as it was today.”

“All in all, it was just (an) incredibly high quality of tennis from both of us,” Djokovic assured. “We didn’t give too much one to another. We didn’t make a lot of unforced errors, so I think there [were] a lot of winners. Roger played very well, I thought, in a very high level. He showed why he’s a champion. He showed a fighting spirit, composure in important moments when he was a break down.”

Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic pose prior to the men’s singles final of the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, in London, Britain, 06 July 2014. EPA/SANG TAN / POOL

“Sincerely, this has been the best-quality Grand Slam final that I ever been part of. I’ve had a longest final against Nadal in the Australian Open 2012. But quality‑wise from the first to last point, this is definitely the best match.”

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand.

Topics: 2014 Wimbledon, Match of the Year, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Tennis, Wimbledon final

Follow 10SBALLS.COM on:

Facebook:

Twitter:

10sBalls_com says:

December 18, 2014 at 3:06 pm

-@Dimonator AND EVERYONE’S–PICK FOR #MatchoftheYear: @DjokerNole VS. @rogerfederer IN THE #Wimbledon FINAL- http://t.co/0UFfidU1uA #tennis
tennisit1 says:

December 18, 2014 at 4:03 pm

RT @10sBalls_com: -@Dimonator AND EVERYONE’S–PICK FOR #MatchoftheYear: @DjokerNole VS. @rogerfederer IN THE #Wimbledon FINAL- http://t.co/…
Dimonator says:

December 18, 2014 at 7:36 pm

RT @10sBalls_com: -@Dimonator AND EVERYONE’S–PICK FOR #MatchoftheYear: @DjokerNole VS. @rogerfederer IN THE #Wimbledon FINAL- http://t.co/…