Federer-Djokovic Play Match for the Ages in Wimbledon Final
Words don’t do the match between Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer in the 2014 Men’s Singles Wimbledon Finals justice. If one had to be used it would be “Unreal.”
From the seemingly miraculous fourth set comeback by Federer, to his unfathomable half-volley on a perfect return by Djokovic on break point in the fifth, everything was going the 17-time Grand Slam winner’s way. Would he pull through to quiet the critics wondering whether he would ever be able to take a major title again?
The twists and turns of this match made it one of the best that has ever been played, not just because of the drama and resiliency shown by both men, but the quality of ball striking, rivaling any in the history of the game.
One would think that after giving up a 5-2 lead in the fourth set while up two sets to one, that losing the lead would blow apart any mental toughness that Djokovic had left. Federer saved a match point at 5-4 with an ace, the replay of which via the challenge system would constantly flash in any player’s mind. The Serbian took a bathroom break before the deciding fifth set. He reset.
After nearly four hours of tense, momentum-shifting tennis, Djokovic won his second Wimbledon crown, halting Federer’s quest for an eighth with a 6-7, 6-4, 7-6, 5-7, 6-4 victory.
For a match that was as surprising as it was good, the first set was no different. In oddly straightforward fashion, Djokovic and Federer headed to a tie-break in the first set. Both competitors served ridiculously well, playing the quickest tie-break set one will ever see between the two legends. Although it took only 51 minutes, the last moments proved crucial, giving Federer a set advantage.
After taking the first point of the breaker on Djokovic’s serve, Federer edged ahead by holding his service points. Give one of the best servers to ever live a mini-break in a tie-breaker and one would expect the score line to be a matter of how lopsided the rest would be. Turn around, and a couple minutes later Djokovic found himself in prime position to turn the tables.
His ridiculous returning stopped Federer’s momentum, setting up his own chance to win the set. At five points apiece, Djokovic reached out, literally acting as a wall, perfectly placing a service return smack on the baseline, forcing a Federer error. As Boris Becker looked on from his player box, Novak started a point that looked as if it could be the one to put his nose in front, but Federer wasn’t ready to slip behind just yet. He did what he has been known for his own career, and went for a forehand that barely clipped the line, forcing a change of sides. After Djokovic went up 7-6, hope glimmered in his eyes as he slowly climbed out of his crouch to return the ensuing Federer serve.
Ace.
It’s pretty hard to win a set point without touching the ball. A couple of points later, James Keothavong uttered words that sent the Centre Court crowd into a frenzy. “Game, first set, Federer, seven games to six.”
Between Federer’s age, Djokovic’s overall solid baseline game and a plethora of other reasons, there was a feeling that the second set would be extremely important. Most of the crowd started to get behind the 32-year old Federer, knowing that taking a commanding two sets to none lead would spell doom for Djokovic.
“Djokes on you, Swiss Maestro,” was very possibly the thought that went through Djokovic’s mind. Okay, not really, but with the returning that he did in the second set, he showed that he was ready for an all out war.
Djokovic grabbed an early break in the second, not only neutralizing both first and second serves, but aggressively taking control of points under both circumstances. It seemed like a game of brick breaker in a way. No matter what lines Federer hit with whatever amount of spin he had on the ball, there was still something there to block it back. That “something” just happened to be Djokovic’s racquet, pinpointing everything on a line or in a corner.
There wasn’t an awful lot of resistance the rest of the set from Federer. He, in fact was under a bit more pressure on serve than Djokovic, although both held pretty comfortably the rest of the way. Compared to the ridiculousness the rest of the match would go on to provide, points were quick, between the quality of serving from both guys and the grass court tendencies, forcing quick play.
As Djokovic served for the set, it seemed as though everything was under control. As routine as a set could be against Federer going into the game, Novak sunk his teeth in. That was until Federer dug his own nub-studded shoes into the court. Very quickly, the Swiss star started thumping his groundstroke just a tad bit more, enough to earn his first break point of the entire match. Djokovic held his nerve. Three points later, “Game, second set, Djokovic, six games to four, one set all.”
With three sets to make a legend an eight-time Wimbledon champion or a Hall of Fame bound Serb a two-time titlist and number one-ranked player in the world, just a little bit was on the line.
The two idols of the game produced their best tennis when they needed it most. Coming down from two sets to one in a major final is no easy feat, and neither player had done it before. Not one of Federer’s 17 had come in such a fashion.
The aura of the match had Djokovic in some form of control at the beginning of the set. The longer the rallies started to go, the less Federer was able to dictate, and the more the cleaner changing of direction by Novak produced results. That is when Federer started to mix it up a little bit. His relatively new coach, Stefan Edberg, has pushed the maestro to do something he did to great success as a player: move forward. With one of the best sets of hands in the game, along with almost always reliable volleys and touch, he started chipping and charging, forcing Djokovic to beat him. On grass, the ball simply doesn’t bounce unless there is something forcing it to, which would be topspin. Put slice on the ball, and forget it, you’re going to need to get down right near the surface of the court to dig the ball out. Time and time again, Novak did just that, passing Federer. A very high percentage net player, Federer only won points on half of his ten visits to the net in the set. It could be argued that going to the Djoker’s more reliable backhand side wasn’t the best idea, but it’s extremely hard to ever question Roger Federer.
As expected, proceedings ended up in the tie-breaker, shortly after Federer made a slight push at the end of the set to no avail. In opposite fashion to the first set tie-breaker, everything went Djokovic’s way. His groundstrokes were as rock solid as rock solid could possibly be. He was in a zone from the back of the court that has rarely been seen in professional tennis before, if at all. After a questionable call by Keothavong to give Federer a point on a won challenge allowed the mini-break to bring things back on serve , a massive crosscourt forehand gave Novak breathing room- just enough to win the set.
“Game, third set, Djokovic, seven games to six, Djokovic leads by two sets to one.”
Up two sets to one, momentum firmly in hand, everything was going right for Djokovic. After playing a lot of fragile tennis over the last couple of weeks, “Nole” as he is known, was a rock mentally, taking firm control of the match. Federer looked to be falling off just a little bit, especially on his favored forehand side. Djokovic broke, and was just a few holds from taking the title.
Not so fast.
Federer found some source of energy from who knows where to break back immediately, the first time he touched Djokovic’s serve the entire match. All of a sudden, a more aggressive Federer was the one making Novak run, run, and run some more. Roger was finishing his shots, not guiding them.
Could be going five sets, right?
Hold on a minute. Djokovic broke again. Breaking serve twice in a row is pretty hard. Doing so against the best player of all time, with the best serve to ever grace the grass of Wimbledon? Come on now, that’s just silly good. Soon enough, a 5-2 lead left Federer fans losing hope.
After holding to force Djokovic to serve out the set, match and championship, Federer played his best tennis of the match. With break point in his hand, the legend did what all legends do by taking the opportunity he got. With a cleanly struck crosscourt forehand, Djokovic fell to the grass in hitting the same shot, leaving the line open for Federer to put things back on serve.
However, the father of four was not out of the woods just yet. Djokovic got himself together to earn match point at 5-4, 30-40.
Ace.
Federer had all the momentum he needed to force a decider, breaking Djokovic again to serve out the fourth.
“Game, fourth set, Federer, seven games to five, two sets all.”
It was all down to one set of tennis. Everybody who plays the game dreams to be on Centre Court at Wimbledon in the final match of the tournament. Six games to win it all. As Andy Roddick nows very well, fifth sets at Wimbledon could go on a while, after he dropped a classic 16-14 in the fifth final to Federer earlier in their careers. Djokovic took the bathroom break of the century to regroup. It’s hard enough to recover from losing the first set of a match, forget two sets to one, 5-2 up, serving for it at 5-3 and owning a match point at 5-4.
Early on in the set, there wasn’t a lot of danger for either guy, but Federer surprisingly looked the fresher of the two. He was moving better than the best mover in the game, especially to his backhand, which he was hitting better than he ever has in his illustrious career.
Plot twist: trouble for Federer
At 3-3, Djokovic put away an easy forehand off of a somewhat weak return to save breakpoint. Scoreboard pressure everywhere forced breakpoint for the Djoker at 4-3. On the third break point of a tension-filled game, Federer showed the hands that have helped make him who he is today, playing arguably the best half volley in the history of tennis, however dramatic that is, to save the game and even things up.
One would expect a dramatic passing shot or a flashy moment of touch to push somebody ahead, but seemingly out of nowhere, Federer found himself in a service hole at 4-5, one he would not dig out of. After falling 0-30 down, Djokovic became a wall once again to set up two break points. All he needed was one, as Federer dumped a backhand from mid-court, ceding the championship to Djokovic. It’s a shame, the roars of the crowd didn’t allow Keothavong’s announcement of the matches end to be heard.
Enough dramatics for a tennis match?
For two guys to physically and mentally battle on the toughest surface to play on in the sport, this match was nothing short of unreal. The class on the court and off shown between the two gentlemen of the game was as top notch as it gets.
Many players spend minutes falling down to the court and celebrating, while Djokovic did the right thing and got up to the net to congratulate Roger on the effort quickly.
Many say that a picture is worth 1,000 words. The image of both men tearing up after the nearly four-hour affair spoke more. One man was relieved to finally break his recent grand Slam drought, another realizing that he may have just had his last shot at a major title. Words don’t do those pictures justice.
After this match, the U.S. Open simply cannot come soon enough.
