Novak Djokovic denied Roger Federer his 21st Grand Slam, winning an epic Wimbledon final 6-7, 6-1, 6-7, 6-4, 12-12 (7-3) on Sunday.
In a clash for the ages, the two greats, with 36 Majors between them, battered each other to a standstill, before the Serb raised the trophy for the fifth time.
The first set followed serve before the defending champion drove through the tiebreak 7-3.
Federer, however, found his range and rhythm in the second set and, more importantly, his ruthlessness on break points, demolishing the Serb 6-1.
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Djokovic held his own game to force the third set to a tiebreaker again and then put the hammer down as he powered to a set of victory with a flurry of points in the shootout.
In the fourth stanza, it was Federer who drew first blood, by taking the break at 3-2 and then another for 5-2, before the Swiss served out the fourth 6-4 to force the contest to a deciding set.
As the nerves of both players began to fray, Djokovic took the advantage to break the Federer serve to go 4-2 up. But the Swiss wouldn’t let him get away and reeled him back to 4-4.
CHAMPION: Simona Halep. Photo: Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP.
Finally, Federer broke at 8-7, but failed to take two match points as they battled to a tiebreak after 12-12 where the Djokovic trumped Federer.
Simona Halep, meanwhile, steamrolled Serena Williams 6-2, 6-2 on Saturday to pick up her first Wimbledon title, denying the 37-year-old American a record-equalling 24th Grandslam success.