Novak Djokovic was able to defeat Roger Federer 7-6 (5), 1-6, 7-6 (4), 4-6, 13-12 (3) in a classic five-set marathon with a lot of ups and downs throughout, according to ESPN Sports. "It was probably the most demanding, mentally most demanding, match I was ever part of," said Djokovic in his press conference after the match, BBC reported. Roger Federer, on the other hand, rued his missed match point opportunities for the loss. With this win, Novak Djokovic increased his total tally of Grand Slams to sixteen and boosted his chances of overtaking Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer's records.
While Federer fans are in agonizing pain over one of his most bitter losses against his chief rivals and Serbian fans are filled with joy and pride, it's worth carving through the main keys to Novak Djokovic's fifth Wimbledon title.
1. Mental Toughness and Determination
It is no secret that Novak Djokovic is one of the best athletes in terms of his ability to absorb pressure and perform to the best of his abilities in the clutch moments. He famously saved match points to beat Roger Federer at the US Open in two consecutive years, 2010 and 2011. In both occasions, Federer was putting a lot of pressure on him and almost all the people in the Arthur Ashe Arena were strongly behind Roger Federer. Djokovic, however, was able to battle Federer and the fans and show that he has nerves of steel.
In this year's Wimbledon final he was able to recover from match points down against Federer for the third time at a major tournament and go on to win the set. He was also able to save a set point in the third set, as well as two break points at 11-11 in the final set. Not anyone has the same level of focus and intensity to be able to think clearly in such moments and to execute some of his best shots when down match points.
This is something unique in Novak's personality and basically the main reason for his fifth Wimbledon title.
2. An easier path to the final
When the tournament's draw came out two weeks ago, most of the Federer and Nadal fans were disappointed. For the third time in as many slams this year, Novak Djokovic was the one who did not have to battle against the other members of Big Three (Djokovic, Nadal, and Federer are famous as the big three of Tennis, having dominated most of the major tennis tournaments in the past 15 years) before the finals.
Moreover, although he didn't have a very easy draw to start with, all of the big names in his half of the draw lost in the early rounds and he didn't face any real challenges before the final match against Federer. Federer, on the other hand, had to battle against his nemesis Rafael Nadal in the semis before stepping on the court to face Djokovic and it was a tough task to ask.
3. Federer not doing well in important points
I don't want to undermine how Novak deserved the title because of his mental strength and fighting spirit; however, I can't help but wonder how Federer could lose a match like this, based on the stats. He outplayed Djokovic in every department including Aces, winners, net plays, and breakpoints.
He won 14 more points overall in the match and still ended up losing the match. Of course, it's partly due to the person on the other side of the net and the respect he has for Novak Djokovic's game, but it's a very rare feat for Roger Federer to lose all three tiebreaks played in the final of a grand slam.
At the end of the day, no matter who won, we can all celebrate the fact that we watched one of the greatest tennis matches of all time that we can tell our grandkids about.