Wimbledon:Meet the
most successful male
player of all time
Roger Federer has won an eighth Wimbledon
title to become the most successful male player
of all time in SW19 by beating a tearful Marin
Cilic 6-3 6-1 6-4 in a quick-fire final.
After a competitive start, Cilic broke down after
falling a set and a break behind and called on
medical staff when at 0-3 in the second.
The Swiss has now won more singles crowns
than any other man at the All England Club
but it was a disappointing end as the seventh
seed appeared to be struggling with a foot injury,
which reduced him to tears on court.
He buried his face into his towel and appeared
almost hysterically upset but opted to continue.
However, the writing appeared to be on the wall
and Federer stormed to victory in emphatic
fashion to wrap up his 19th Grand Slam title.
While it proved to be an underwhelming final
given Cilic’s injury problems, the focus should not
shift from Federer’s remarkable resurgence
in 2017,
having taken six months off last year and there
could be more success to come.
He will now return to world No. 3 and with
Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray’s injury struggles,
he may well add a third Grand Slam crown in 2017
– a stunning 20th major.
Cilic came out firing. His serve was working in it’s
usual robotic fashion, while he was dictating points
on his forehand side and, in doing so, set up
the first break opportunity of the match.
Most men's Grand Slam titles &
Wimbledon winners
Most Slam titles
19 – Federer
15 – Nadal
14 – Sampras
12 – Djokovic
12 – Emerson
11 – Laver
11 – Borg
15 – Nadal
14 – Sampras
12 – Djokovic
12 – Emerson
11 – Laver
11 – Borg
Most Wimbledon titles
8 – Federer
7 – Sampras
7 – Renshaw
5 – Borg
5 – L. Doherty
4 – R. Doherty
4 – Laver
4 – Wilding
7 – Sampras
7 – Renshaw
5 – Borg
5 – L. Doherty
4 – R. Doherty
4 – Laver
4 – Wilding
But after denying the seventh seed, Federer
then ramped things up a notch.
He set up three chances at 0-40 – with one
of them seeing a painful-looking Cilic slip onto
his backside – and getting the breakthrough at
the third time of asking.
From then, with the entirety of the Centre
Court crowd seemingly against him, Cilic crumbled,
only winning one more game before double
faulting to hand the Swiss the opening set.
However, there appeared to be a medical
problem for the world No. 6 and after going a
break down in the second set, he cried into
his towel and looked in distress.
A merciless Federer pounced and stormed to a 6-1 lead in the second before the Croat spent a longer period receiving treatment ahead of the third set.
It appeared to be a foot issue for the one-time Grand Slam winner, and when he took his left shoe and sock off, he revealed his foot was bandaged.
He battled on but it seemed inevitable that his time was coming to an end, although the crowd certainly warmed to Cilic for his fighting spirit.
And it can also be difficult to face a wounded warrior, but the 35-year-old kept his focus and got the job done.
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