LONDON — Novak Djokovic got the better of Roger Federer at Wimbledon again.
The defending champion outplayed Federer in four sets Sunday to win his third Wimbledon title and ninth Grand Slam championship.
In a repeat of last year’s final, won by Djokovic in five sets, the top-ranked Serb overcame the loss of seven set points in the second set and pulled away to beat the seven-time champion 7-6 (1), 6-7 (10), 6-4, 6-3.
The top-seeded Djokovic broke No. 2 Federer four times and saved six of the seven break points he faced.
In winning the 40th career matchup between two of the greats of the game, Djokovic prevented Federer from winning a record eighth Wimbledon title.
The 28-year-old Djokovic further cemented his status as the dominant player in the game and one of the all-time greats, still in the prime of his career.
Djokovic closed out the match by breaking Federer for the second time in the fourth set, hitting an inside-out forehand winner into the open court on the final point. He pumped his arms and screamed, then bent down, plucked some grass from Centre Court and put it his mouth ”“ just as he did when he won his first title in 2011 and again last year.
Djokovic equaled the number of Wimbledon titles won by his current coach Boris Becker, who won at the All England Club in 1985, ”˜86 and ”˜89.
Djokovic also became the first man to retain the Wimbledon title since Federer did it in 2007.
Sunday’s victory evened their career head-to-head record at 20-20, but Djokovic now holds a narrow edge where it counts the most ”“ 2-1 in Grand Slam finals, 2-1 at Wimbledon and 7-6 in majors overall.
The 33-year-old Federer will now have to wait another year to try again to become the first man to win eight Wimbledon singles titles. In 2012, he equaled Pete Sampras and 1880s player William Renshaw with seven.
Federer was playing in his 10th Wimbledon final and 26th Grand Slam final. He had been broken only once coming into the match, but dropped serve four times against Djokovic, considered the best returner in the game.
The final featured two of the fiercest competitors in the sport going toe-to-toe, with each going for big serves and engaging in furious corner-to-corner rallies.
Federer took more risks and was more aggressive, but the steely Djokovic refused to bend, digging in and lifting his game whenever he had to in order to prevent his opponent from gaining the edge.
While Federer had more winners (58) than Djokovic (46), the Serb finished with only 16 unforced errors, compared to 35 for the Swiss player.
Williams completes ”˜Serena Slam’
LONDON (AP) — Serena Williams overcame a slow start, eight double-faults and a nervy finish to beat Garbine Muguruza 6-4, 6-4 on Saturday for her sixth Wimbledon title, fourth Grand Slam championship in a row and 21st major overall.
The win means Williams holds all four Grand Slam titles at once ”“ completing the second “Serena Slam” of her career. What’s more, she secured the third leg of a calendar-year Grand Slam and, if she wins the U.S. Open, will become the first player to sweep all four majors in the same season since Steffi Graf in 1988.
“I’ve been trying to win four in a row for 12 years, and it hasn’t happened. I’ve had a couple injuries. You know, it’s been an up-and-down process,” Williams said. “I honestly can’t say that last year or two years ago or even five years ago I would have thought that I would have won four in a row.”
Williams, winning her 28th straight Grand Slam match, is now just one major title behind Graf on the Open era list and two behind all-time leader Margaret Court.
Hingis adds to Wimbledon Haul
LONDON (AP) — Martina Hingis keeps adding to her collection of Wimbledon trophies.
The 34-year-old Swiss paired with Leander Paes of India on Sunday to win the mixed doubles title, beating Alexander Peya and Timea Babos 6-1, 6-1 under the roof on Centre Court. The win, which took just 40 minutes, gave Hingis her 11th Grand Slam doubles title.
It was the second in two day days for Hingis, who combined with Sania Mirza to win the women’s doubles on Saturday, beating Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina 5-7, 7-6 (4), 7-5.
Hingis became the first player to win both the women’s and mixed doubles titles at the All England Club since Cara Black in 2004. These are the first titles at Wimbledon for Hingis since she won the women’s doubles in 1998. She also won the singles championship in 1997 and the women’s doubles in 1996.
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