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Novak Djokovic of Serbia eats some grass after defeating Roger Federer of Switzerland in the Wimbledon men's singles final at the All England Club in London yesterday. |
Novak Djokovic claimed a second Wimbledon title after coming out on top in an extraordinary battle of wills against Roger Federer, eventually triumphing 6-7 (7), 6-4, 7-6 (4), 5-7, 6-4 in a gripping encounter in London yesterday.
The Serb, who has now won seven grand slam titles, denied Federer the opportunity to win a record eighth All England Club trophy but was pushed all the way by the Swiss who faced a match point in the fourth set before forcing a decider.
Djokovic eventually wrapped up the contest that will go down as one of the greatest Wimbledon finals in three hours and 56 minutes, falling to the ground in celebration before climbing to the players' box to greet his camp with an emotional embrace.
"I don't know how I managed to do it," said a teary Djokovic, who had lost his last three grand slam finals.
In the last set, Djokovic broke with the help of four mistakes from Federer to seal the win.
But the 27-year-old struggled to finish it, having surrendered a 2-5 lead in the fourth set and then a match point.
Defeat for 32-year-old Federer, who won the most recent of his 17 grand slam titles at the All England Club in 2012, ended his bid to become the oldest Wimbledon champion in the Open Era and of breaking the tie of seven titles he shares with American Pete Sampras.
On Saturday, unseeded Vasek Pospisil and Jack Sock claimed a grand slam title at the first attempt after beating American brothers Bob and Mike Bryan 7-6 (5), 6-7 (3), 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 in an thrilling men's doubles final.
The athletic duo looked undaunted against the 15-time grand slam champions and converted their fifth championship point to take the match in three hours and six minutes.
Canadian Pospisil and American Sock become the first pair to claim a major tournament at the first time of asking since Lleyton Hewitt and Max Mirnyi took the US Open title in 2000.
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