Novak Djokovic has edged out Roger Federer in four sets to clinch a third Wimbledon title and deny the veteran a record eighth triumph at SW19.
The world number one, who came into the competition on the back of a French Open final defeat last month, with no warm-up tournament in between, bounced back from his disappointment at Roland Garros with a 7-6[1] 6-7[10] 6-4 6-3 win in just shy of three hours.
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Little could separate the duo in the opening five games, but the pendulum looked poised to swing in Federer's favour when he inflicted the first break of serve to move 4-2 ahead.
However, Djokovic - the defending champion - dug deep and broke straight back en route to levelling up at four games apiece.
It proved to be just the pick-me-up that the world number one needed, as the Serbian dominated the tiebreak, inflicting three broken service games in a comfortable 7-1 win.
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There was nothing to choose between the pair once again in the second set as both players rattled off six games apiece, with no breaks of serve, to force another tiebreak.
This time, Federer, a 10-time finalist, needed all of his experience to save three set points as Djokovic led 6-3. From there, the Swiss went from strength to strength, breaking the 28-year-old twice to move 11-10 ahead, before holding serve to level up the match.
Djokovic broke Federer for the first time since the seventh game of the match to move into a 3-1 lead in the third set, but his momentum was stifled when play was suspended due to rain.
Nevertheless, the eight-time Grand Slam champion picked up where he left off when play was resumed by moving 4-2 ahead as he maintained that two-game cushion en route to going one set shy of victory.
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He took a significant step toward a third title at All England - and ninth Slam triumph - by breaking the Federer serve once again in the fifth game of the fourth set before leading 4-2.
It was enough of an advantage for Djokovic to ultimately banish the memories of Roland Garros in June and retain his Wimbledon title.
Shane Callaghan
