Defending champion Novak Djokovic won a third Wimbledon title and a ninth grand slam crown, ruthlessly shattering Roger Federer's bid for a record eighth All England Club triumph. World number one Djokovic won 7-6 (7-1), 6-7 (10-12), 6-4, 6-3 to add the Wimbledon title to the Australian Open he captured in January. It's always a great privilege playing Roger. It's probably the biggest challenge I can have. Roger has done so much for tennis Novak Djokovic It was a cathartic moment for Djokovic just a month after his heartbreaking French Open final defeat by Stan Wawrinka. "It's always a great privilege playing Roger. It's probably the biggest challenge I can have. Roger has done so much for tennis," said Djokovic. "He makes you work hard for every point. For this particular match you work all your life." Said Federer: "Novak not only played great but he played great last two weeks and the year before that. He deserved that." For 33-year-old Federer, it was a bitterly disappointing end to his bid to become the oldest Wimbledon champion of the Open Era. But he had his chances. In a rollercoaster rematch of last year's final, he was 4-2 up in the first set and had two set points. Federer then had to save seven set points in the second set before bravely levelling. However, Djokovic, five years Federer's junior, stepped on the gas and raced away to the title. It was the pair's 40th career meeting and 12th in the grand slams. Djokovic was playing in his 17th major final compared to Federer's 26th. In front of a Royal Box crammed with tennis and Hollywood A-listers, including Bjorn Borg, Rod Laver, Benedict Cumberbatch, Hugh Grant and Bradley Cooper, Federer was in the early ascendancy. He broke for a 4-2 lead but Djokovic hit straight back condemning the Swiss to just his second lost service game in 94 served up at the tournament. Federer then saw two set points disappear in the 12th game. Djokovic capitalised on his escape, racing through the tiebreaker with six consecutive points to claim the opener when Federer served up a double fault. Federer wasted two break points in the fifth and 11th games of the second set having saved a first set point in the 10th. That paved the way for a titanic tiebreak where the 33-year-old saved six more set points before levelling the final on his second set point. Djokovic swiftly recovered, breaking for a 2-1 lead in the third set which became 3-2 when rain forced them off for 20 minutes before the Serb wrapped it up 6-4. Djokovic was strangling the life out of Federer's game and another break gave him a 3-2 lead in the fourth on his way to victory.