The Malta Independent 18 April 2024, Thursday
View E-Paper

Tennis, Wimbledon, Day 13: Djokovic beats Federer in epic 5-set thriller to win 5th Wimbledon title

Associated Press Sunday, 14 July 2019, 20:08 Last update: about 6 years ago

The Latest at Wimbledon (all times local):

7:08 p.m.

Novak Djokovic has won his fifth Wimbledon title, beating eight-time champion Roger Federer in a fifth-set tiebreaker after saving two match points.

The top-seeded Serb won 7-6 (5), 1-6, 7-6 (4), 4-6, 13-12 (3) on Centre Court, defeating Federer in the final for the third time. He also beat Federer in the final in 2014 and 2015.

Djokovic is the first man since 1948 to save championship points in the final and go on to win.

ADVERTISEMENT

Djokovic has now won 16 Grand Slam singles titles, within four of Federer's record of 20. Rafael Nadal has 18.

Wimbledon started using deciding-set tiebreakers for the first time this year.

___

6:58 p.m.

The Wimbledon final between Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic is going to a fifth-set tiebreaker with the score even at 12-12.

This is the first year Wimbledon is using deciding-set tiebreakers, and only when the score reaches 12-12.

___

6:10 p.m.

The Wimbledon final between Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic is 6-6 in the fifth set.

For the first time this year, Wimbledon will have tiebreakers in deciding sets if the score reaches 12-12.

___

5:05 p.m.

The Wimbledon final between Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic is going to a deciding fifth set.

Federer won the fourth set to even the match at 6-7 (5), 6-1, 6-7 (4), 6-4.

Federer broke Djokovic twice in the fourth to take a 5-2 lead, but was broken for the first time in the match when serving for the set. However, he held at love on his second opportunity.

Federer and Djokovic are playing each other in the Wimbledon final for the third time. Djokovic won the previous two, in 2014 and 2015.

___

4:30 p.m.

Novak Djokovic is one set away from a fifth Wimbledon title after winning another tiebreaker against Roger Federer in the men's final.

Djokovic leads 7-6 (5), 1-6, 7-6 (4).

Federer has yet to face a break point in the match and had a set point with Djokovic serving at 5-4 in the third, but sent a backhand return wide.

In the tiebreaker, Djokovic jumped out to a 5-1 lead and clinched the set when Federer netted a forehand.

___

3:35 p.m.

Roger Federer has won the second set against Novak Djokovic 6-1 to level the men's Wimbledon final at 1-1.

Djokovic won the first set 7-6 (5) but was broken twice as Federer took a 4-0 lead in the second. Federer broke again at love in the final game, with Djokovic double-faulting on set point.

Djokovic hit just two winners in the second set, compared to 14 in the first.

___

3:10 p.m.

Novak Djokovic has won the first set 7-6 (5) against Roger Federer in the men's Wimbledon final.

Federer led 5-3 in the tiebreaker after winning four straight points, but missed forehands on each of the next three points. He then sent a backhand wide to hand Djokovic the set.

Federer had the only break point of the set at 2-1, but sent a forehand wide that time.

Federer is looking for his ninth Wimbledon title, while Djokovic is after his fifth.

___

12:40 p.m.

Jonas Forejtek and Jiri Lehecka won the junior boys' doubles title at Wimbledon.

The top-seeded pair from the Czech Republic beat Liam Draxl of Canada and Govind Nanda of the United States 7-5, 6-4.

Also, Aniek Van Koot won her second Wimbledon title in two days.

Van Koot and Diede De Groot of the Netherlands won the women's wheelchair doubles title, beating Marjolein Buis of the Netherlands and Giulia Capocci of Italy 6-1, 6-1.

Van Koot also won the singles title on Saturday, beating her doubles partner in three sets.

___

7:50 a.m.

It'll either be Wimbledon championship No. 9 for Roger Federer or No. 5 for Novak Djokovic when they meet in the final.

This is the pair's third meeting in the title match at the All England Club. Djokovic won both of those previous matchups, in 2014 and 2015.

Federer, who is 37, is going for his 21st Grand Slam trophy overall on Sunday, while the 32-year-old Djokovic is playing for his 16th.

They have played each other 47 times already, with Djokovic holding a 25-22 head-to-head edge. This is also their 16th showdown at a major tournament — the most between any two men in the professional era — and Djokovic leads that count 9-6 so far.

  • don't miss