Wimbledon 2019: Novak Djokovic defends men’s title after outlasting Roger Federer in marathon five-hour final
- Federer missed two match points before the pair entered a championship tiebreak at 12-12 and Djokovic triumphed in four hours and 57 minutes
Novak Djokovic successfully defended his Wimbledon title in a near five-hour marathon match against Roger Federer with a 7-6 (7-5), 1-6, 7-6 (7-4), 4-6, 13-12 (7-3) to win the tournament for the fifth time on Sunday.
Federer surrendered a 5-3 advantage to give Djokovic the first set after a tiebreak, but the eight-time champion quickly levelled the match in the second set.
The world number one Djokovic took the third set on another tiebreak and Federer forced a deciding fifth set by prevailing in the fourth.
In an epic final frame, Federer missed two match points serving for the match at 8-7 but after they entered a championship tiebreak at 12-12, Djokovic triumphed in four hours and 57 minutes.
“Unfortunately in these kinds of matches, one of the players has to lose,” Djokovic said. “It’s quite unreal.”
This triumph also earned Djokovic his 16th Grand Slam trophy overall, moving him closer to the only men ahead of him in tennis history: Federer owns 20, Rafael Nadal has 18.