By Randy Walker
@TennisPublisher
It was a Wimbledon final for the ages and one that had you scrambling through your pages of the authoritative tennis encyclopedia “The Bud Collins History of Tennis.”
Novak Djokovic won his fifth Wimbledon title and his 16th career major singles title with an historic five-set win over eight-time time champion Roger Federer 7-6 (7-6), 1-6, 7-6 (7-4), 4-6, 13-12 (7-3).
The scoreline is unlike any one in the history of tennis as it marked the first time ever that a tiebreaker was played in a decisive set in a singles match since the tournament began in 1877. It was the first time ever that a tiebreaker decided a championship at Wimbledon.
Other tennis history made in this final was that it lasted four hours and 57 minutes, the longest men’s final ever in time, eclipsing the 4:48 final between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in 2008.
Djokovic also accomplished something that had not been done in a Wimbledon final since 1948 – saving match points. Federer served for the match at 8-7 in the fifth set and held two match points at 40-15 but was unable to close it out. Djokovic thus became the first man to save a match point in a Wimbledon final since Bob Falkenburg, an American turned Brazilian and a former standout at the University of Southern California, beat John Bromwich 7-5, 0-6, 6-2, 3-6, 7-5, saving three match points down 3-5 in the fifth set.
History that was not made was that Federer was looking to become the oldest man to win a major title in the Open Era at age 37 years old.
The win, in addition to the on-court drama, had immense implications in tennis history as Federer was attempting to win his men’s record-extending 21st major title and create more distance between he and Rafael Nadal, with 18 majors in the No. 2 slot. The win for Djokovic draws him closer to both Nadal and Federer with his 16th career major title.
Steve Flink, a member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame, is the authority on the greatest tennis matches of all time having written the book by that very name “The Greatest Tennis Matches of All Time” that you can buy or download here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0942257936/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_U_x_qF4kDb38V3N4M While many were comparing the 2019 Federer vs. Djokovic Wimbledon final to that of the 2008 Wimbledon final between Federer and Nadal as perhaps the greatest of all time, Flink said in an email following the final that it did not near that classic.
“I don’t think so,” Flink replied when I asked if this final was “greater” than the 2008 Federer vs. Nadal classic. “ It did not have the sustained quality of the Federer-Nadal or Borg McEnroe finals. But it was a beauty. I would put it somewhere in the top ten however, but lower than those two and close to Nadal-Djokovic Australia 2012.”
In his “Greatest Tennis Matches of All Time” book, Flink rates the greatest matches of all time, with Nadal – Federer 2008 ranked No. 1 and John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg from 1980 Wimbledon ranked No. 2.
Tiebreakers have decided only two other major singles finals in history – at the 1981 and 1985 U.S. Open women’s singles final. In 1981, Tracy Austin defeated Martina Navratilova 1-6, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (1) in the women’s singles final and then four years later, Navratilova lost another final-set tiebreaker to Hana Mandlikova 7-6(3), 1-6, 7-6 (2) in 1985.
For the first time this year, Wimbledon implemented a tiebreaker to be played at 12-12 in decisive sets. The move was in response to Kevin Anderson and John Isner playing until 26-24 in the fifth set in the men’s semifinals last year, causing the tournament schedule to be thrown into flux, with the second men’s semifinal between Djokovic and Nadal not being able to finish that day and also causing Anderson to be less than top form in the final. Isner, of course, won a first round match in 2010 against Nicolas Mahut by a 70-68 scoreline in the fifth set.
