Novak Djokovic has defended his Wimbledon men’s singles title after a thrilling five-set victory over Roger Federer on Sunday.
Serbian top seed Djokovic saved two championship points against second seed Federer and went on to win a fifth-set tie-break. The final was the longest in Wimbledon history at four hours 57 minutes.
Djokovic’s 7-6 (7-5), 1-6, 7-6 (7-4), 4-6, 13-12 (7-3) victory means he has now won five Wimbledon titles and 16 grand slams. It was also the third time Djokovic has beaten Federer in the Wimbledon men’s singles final.
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Speaking after his epic win 32-year-old Djokovic said: “If this was not the most thrilling and exciting finals I was ever a part of, then definitely it’s top two or three in my career against one of the greatest players of all time - Roger.
“I respect him a lot. Unfortunately in these kind of matches, one of the players has to lose and, as Roger said, we both had our chances. It’s quite unreal to be two match points down and to come back.”
Chasing his ninth Wimbledon title Federer was left to rue missed chances. The Swiss star, 37, said: “You take it on the chin, move on and try to forget. I will try to take the good things out of this match because there is tons of it.
“It hurts, like every loss at Wimbledon. But it’s a mindset, and I’m very strong at moving on. I don’t want to be depressed about losing an amazing tennis match.”
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