After defeating Swiss tennis veteran Roger Federer in the longest Wimbledon final, Novak Djokovic on Tuesday showed respect towards his opponent saying "major respect to Roger for a titan fight".
Djokovic posted a picture of himself on Instagram and captioned the post as "It was a match to remember forever. Match that had everything in it. Match that transcends our sport. I am eternally grateful to be part of it. Major respect to Roger for a titan fight. It has been quite a tennis journey for me in the last 12 months. Coming back from injury and trying to get to the level of tennis which would allow me to compete for Slams.
"Self-belief, resilience, dedication and major support from my closest people in Life allowed me to be where I am today. I am blessed and I am aware of it. Wimbledon, it has been a great pleasure to make history and share the court with the legend of our sport once more. I will keep on dreaming to still be part of these memorable moments in the future. By the way, grass tasted like never before," he added.
Djokovic won his fifth Wimbledon title on Sunday as he defeated Swiss tennis ace Roger Federer 7-6, 1-6, 7-6, 4-6, 13-12 in a match that lasted for almost five hours.
The match had to be decided in the fifth set, as both Federer and Djokovic won two sets each in the longest ever final to be played so far.
The first set was closely fought as both Federer and Djokovic were in no mood to let go off the momentum. Both players broke each other serves and at one point, the scoreline read 6-6. However, Djokovic showcased his trademark aggressive gameplay to take the first set 7-6.
Federer came out all guns blazing in the second set and he curbed the natural attacking instinct of Djokovic. The Serbian was able to win just one game and as a result, Federer won the second set 6-1.
In a bid to gain an upper hand in the match, both Federer and Djokovic were left no stone unturned. The third set played out just like the opening set and was a closely fought encounter. The set went onto a tie-break and Djokovic came out triumphant winning the set 7-6.
Facing a must-win set to stay in the match, Federer attacked early on and disrupted Djokovic with his serves. He was able to take a 5-2 lead in the set, but the Serbian made a fantastic comeback, bringing the scoreline to 5-4 in favour of Federer. But the Swiss somehow managed to win the fourth set and the match went into the final set for deciding the winner.
In the fifth and final set, Djokovic was able to take an early 4-2 lead. But Federer staged a comeback as he won two games, bringing the scoreline to 4-4. Both the players went back and forth to bring the scoreline at 12-12, bringing spectators to the edge of their seats.
In the end, Djokovic showed his class to seal the final set 13-12 to win his fifth Wimbledon title.
This was the 48th meeting between Federer and Djokovic on the court and the 16th meeting in a Grand Slam.Before this match, Federer and Djokovic had faced each other three times in Wimbledon. The Serbian held the edge over Federer as he defeated him two times in Wimbledon final (2014 and 2015). Federer managed to defeat Djokovic in the 2012 semi-final.
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