Andy Roddick gave his all and then some, but in the end, Roger Federer came up with the clutch points to claim his 15th Grand Slam title and break Pete Sampras’ record for Grand Slam titles, as the Swiss outlasted Roddick in a four-plus hour marathon 5-7, 7-6 (8-6), 7-6 (7-5), 3-6, 16-14.
Roddick won the first set 7-5, and was a point away from taking a commanding two-set advantage, but Federer battled back from a 6-2 deficit in the second-set tiebreaker, winning six straight points to win the set and level the match at a set apiece. The third set saw another tiebreaker, and Federer held his cool after nearly giving up a 5-1 lead to take the tiebreaker 7-5 and go up two sets to one.
But, Roddick broke Federer in his second service game of the fourth set to take a 3-1 lead, and the American went on to win the fourth set 6-3 to send the match to a decisive fifth set.
The fifth set was one for the ages, going to a Grand Slam record 30 games before Federer broke Roddick to put an end to what was an absolute classic. You have to feel for Roddick, who played his heart out and really proved that he can indeed hold his own against the best of the best.
Thanks to all who followed along with today’s live blog, congratulations to Roger Federer for breaking the record, and a big kudos to Federer and Roddick for putting on a show that won’t be forgotten anytime soon.
FIFTH SET
GAME, SET, MATCH FEDERER 5-7, 7-6 (8-6), 7-6 (7-5), 3-6, 16-14: And there it is! Roger Federer has won his 15th Grand Slam singles title.
I sensed it might have been coming, and it did come. Roddick put himself into a hole by dropping the first two points, but he valiantly battled back to go up 40-30. After Federer forced deuce, Roddick earned a game point, but Federer got back to deuce, and from there, won the next two points to take the title, the record, and the #1 ranking.
15-14 Federer: Federer gets his 50th ace of the match, and he holds at love for the second straight game to force Roddick to hold to stay alive again. Federer’s been getting points off of Roddick’s serve a little more now…could he put an end to this one in the next game?
14-14: After Federer gains a 15-30 edge following a Roddick mishit, Roddick wins three straight points to complete another hold.
14-13 Federer: Federer gets his 49th ace, and he holds at love. He’s pushed Roddick to deuce in two of Roddick’s last three service games - can he turn that into a break opportunity?
13-13: Roddick gets pushed to deuce, but once again, he holds his nerve and holds his serve, closing out the game to make it 13-all. We’ve passed the four-hour mark now.
13-12 Federer: Roddick gets an opening at 15-30, but Federer blasts three straight aces to up his total to an astounding 48 and put the pressure back on Roddick. The Wimbledon folks just make two title trophies and call this one a draw, because this is truly one of those matches that doesn’t deserve a loser.
12-12: Roddick holds at love, and it’s Federer’s turn to hold once again.
12-11 Federer: It’s an ace party in this game for Federer, as he ups his total to an astounding 45 on the way to another hold.
11-11: After Roddick goes up 40-15, Federer forces deuce. But Roddick wins the next two points to remain unbroken for the match, and it’s 11-all! For what it’s worth, this match has now set a record for the longest fifth set in a Grand Slam final, and it’s also set a Wimbledon championship record for most games played in an entire match.
11-10 Federer: Federer closes out another hold with his 42nd ace, and once again, Roddick must hold to keep this classic alive.
10-10: Roddick holds once again - should we even question it at this point?
10-9 Federer: Roddick stays in the game at 40-15 with another fantastic baseline winner, but Federer finishes off the hold with an ace that is called a fault initially, but after reviews, it’s shown that the ball just clipped the baseline and is good. That’s 41 aces for Federer now.
9-9: Roddick holds at love, and the marathon continues!
9-8 Federer: Roddick earns two break points with a fantastic winner down the line at 15-30, but Federer wins four consecutive points to take the game. Big show of resolve from Federer there.
8-8: Roddick holds, and it’s 8-8. Last year’s final between Federer and Nadal went to 9-7 in the fifth, so we’re past that now.
8-7 Federer: Federer’s fourth double fault of the match makes it 15-all, but he recovers and wins the final three points of the game to make it 8-7.
7-7: Yep, you guessed it. Roddick holds again, and we’re even at seven.
7-6 Federer: An amazing sequence at 30-15, as Roddick barely stays in the point with a return that just clips the baseline. Federer’s return brings Roddick rushing to the net, Roddick gets to it, and his return clips the top of the net and goes over to give him the point. Federer goes on to hold though, and Roddick must hold again.
6-6: Fantastic winner down the line from Roddick to close out the game, and we’re still going. As great as last year’s final between Federer and Rafael Nadal was, this one’s on the verge of upstaging it, if it hasn’t already.
6-5 Federer: Federer holds, back to Roddick now.
5-5: Easy hold for Roddick, and it’s 5-all.
5-4 Federer: Three more aces for Federer as he holds for the 5-4 lead, and now Roddick must hold his nerve and his serve to keep this match going.
4-4: Federer nets on 40-15, and it’s another hold for Roddick.
4-3 Federer: Federer matches Roddick, closing out his hold with an ace, and it’s time for another hold from Roddick. Federer has 33 aces to Roddick’s 21, for what it’s worth.
3-3: Roddick with the ace to close out the hold, and we’re still on serve in the fifth. The match has now hit the three-hour mark. Officially in marathon status now.
3-2 Federer: Another hold from Federer, and the pressure shifts back to Roddick.
For those who aren’t watching, Pete Sampras is in the stands - I wonder who he’s rooting for?
2-2: No break here, as Roddick holds easily yet again.
2-1 Federer: At 30-15, a Federer return is initially ruled out, but replays show that the ball is in, making it 40-15 instead of 30-all. Federer then finishes the game off on the next point, and it’s on Roddick to hold yet again.
In the fifth set, there are no tiebreakers, so someone’s going to have to break to be able to claim this one.
1-1: At 30-30, Roddick takes another tumble, but he’s unable to prevent Federer from getting a break opportunity. But Roddick snuffs out yet another break opportunity, wins three straight points, and continues to be unbroken in this match.
1-0 Federer: Federer serves first, and it’s a quick hold to open the fifth.
FOURTH SET
FOURTH SET TO RODDICK 6-3: Roddick gets himself into a quick hole, dropping the first two points and giving Federer an opportunity to carve out the break chance he needs. However, Roddick comes back to win the final four points and claim the fourth set to make it 2-all. This is the farthest Roddick has made it in a Grand Slam final against Federer, with his previous best being four sets in their Wimbledon final in 2004.
5-3 Roddick: Federer holds easily, but there’s a worrying moment as a sliding Roddick loses his balance and slips to the ground. He gets up and limps away, but it doesn’t appear to be anything serious…yet.
5-2 Roddick: Roddick wins the first two points of his service game, but Federer makes it 30-all by winning the next two points. But Roddick wins the next two points to hold once again, and now Federer must hold to force Roddick to serve out the set.
4-2 Roddick: Roddick pushes it to 40-30 after Federer wins the first three points, but it’s another hold for Federer.
4-1 Roddick: Federer makes him work for it, pushing the game to deuce, but Roddick doesn’t get rattled and holds to up his lead to 4-1. Two more service holds, and we’ll have a five-set final for the third straight year.
BREAK POINT RODDICK - 3-1 Roddick: And there’s the break Roddick needed! Roddick gets two break points at 15-40, and after Federer serves the first with an ace, Roddick gets the break and the two-game lead when Federer nets. Can Roddick take control here, or will Federer immediately bounce back?
2-1 Roddick: Another easy hold for Roddick.
1-1: A chance for Roddick to make something happen when he gets a 15-30 advantage, but Federer shuts that door with three straight points to get the service hold.
1-0 Roddick: Roddick serves to open the fourth set, and he holds to get off to a good start in the fourth. Can he find a way to break Federer and be able to force a fifth set without having to go through another tiebreaker?
THIRD SET
THIRD SET TO FEDERER 7-6 (7-5): Federer goes up 5-1, and Roddick battles back to get it 6-5, but Federer finishes him off on his next service point to take the third set and move within a set of his sixth Wimbledon title. It’s not over for Roddick, but his best hopes may have gone out the window with that lost lead in the second-set tiebreaker. No matter what though, you have to applaud him for how well he’s played for the most part.
TIEBREAKER: 1-0 Federer - Roddick hits long on a return to give Federer the early advantage.
6-6: Sit down and strap in for another tiebreaker, folks. Federer serves first.
5-5: See below.
4-4: Two more service games, two more holds.
3-3: Federer gets a break opportunity at 30-40, but Roddick snuffs it out. Federer prolongs the game with a fantastic winner to force another deuce, but Roddick puts the game away by winning the next two points, and we’re still on serve in the third.
3-2 Federer: Should we just move on to the tiebreaker already? Another easy service hold puts Federer up 3-2, and it’s commercial break time.
2-2: If Roddick was rattled at all after the way the second set ended for him, he’s certainly not showing it. Another game, another hold, and we’re even again.
2-1 Federer: Federer holds at love, and the third set appears to be going the way of the first two.
1-1: Roddick with the easy hold in his first service game of the third set. Just what he needed to do.
1-0 Federer: Federer opens the set with a hold, and now we’ll see where Roddick’s head is.
SECOND SET
SECOND SET TO FEDERER 7-6 (8-6): And there it is! Roddick gives Federer the opening, and Federer takes advantage of it, coming back from 6-2 down in the tiebreaker to win the second set. After playing with extreme confidence all the way up to 6-2, it looks like Roddick’s nerves started to show as his set points slipped away. Is this where another one gets away from him, or will he be able to rebound in the third?
TIEBREAKER - 6-5 Roddick: Federer does just that, but now Roddick can now serve for the set.
TIEBREAKER - 6-3 Roddick: Federer saves the first of Roddick’s set points, and he can get back in it if he can take both of his service points.
TIEBREAKER - 4-1 Roddick: Roddick takes both service points.
TIEBREAKER - 3-1 Roddick: Another blast from Roddick that’s trouble for Federer, and it’s back to a two-point advantage.
TIEBREAKER - 2-1 Roddick: Federer gets his first point of the tiebreaker.
TIEBREAKER - 2-0 Roddick: A Federer return is long, and there’s an opening for Roddick!
TIEBREAKER - 1-0 Roddick: Another unreturnable blast from Roddick to open the tiebreaker, and he gets the breaker started on the right track.
6-6: It’s tiebreaker time!
6-5 Roddick: Roddick holds easily again, and as he’s done multiple times already, ends the game with a blast that Federer can’t deal with. Can he repeat what he did in the first set and take a two-set lead?
5-5: After taking the first two points, Federer gives Roddick a little opening by dropping the next two points, including a rare double fault. But that small opening isn’t there for long, as Federer wins the last two points to level the set once again. Great point to end the game, as both men come into the net, and a lunge from Roddick isn’t enough to keep him in the game.
5-4 Roddick: At 40-0, Federer is able to extend the game by a point, but Roddick quickly closes the door on the game with another big serve that Federer can’t do much with. Federer must hold serve to stay in the set now.
4-4: I’ll let you guess the result.
4-3 Roddick: Roddick finishes off another service hold with an ace, and we’re still on serve in the second.
3-3: Another hold for Federer. Going the way of the first set here. Either we’re going to have a tiiebreaker, or one break is going to decide a close set.
Roddick 3-2: Roddick unleashes a few unreturnable blasts on the way to another service hold.
2-2: Federer holds at love, and we’re even.
2-1 Roddick: Roddick holds again.
1-1: Federer doesn’t play around in his first service game of the second set, holding to level it at 1.
1-0 Roddick: Roddick starts the second set just as he needed to, with an easy hold.
FIRST SET
FIRST SET TO RODDICK: Roddick earns a break point at 30-40, and Federer hits long to give Roddick the first set! Now the real test begins for Roddick, because you know Federer’s going to turn it up a notch now.
6-5 Roddick: Finally some action to wake the crowd up, and it’s a huge, huge hold and show of nerve for Roddick. He puts himself into a hole by dropping the first two points, and after winning consecutive points to make it 30-all, Federer gets the break chance. Roddick fends that one off, and he fends a few more off and goes on to win the game. Federer’s got to hold now to force the tiebreaker.
These are the moments where Roddick has tripped up in the past, but it was big for him to be able to pull out that hold. It could’ve gone a lot differently though, because Federer barely missed on two shots that would’ve given him the break and a 6-5 lead.
5-5: A little tit for tat, as Federer holds at love.
5-4 Roddick: Another game, another easy service hold, as Roddick wins at love. With things breezing along so far, the NBC commentators had time to make note of Federer’s monogrammed racket bag. Nice.
4-4: Roddick prolongs the game by taking a point at 40-0, but Federer finishes off the game with an ace.
4-3 Roddick: I thought I’d spoken too soon for a moment there, as Federer won the first point of the game. But Roddick quickly shuts the door by winning four consecutive points to hold yet again.
3-3: Federer holds serve to level it again, and at this rate, we’re headed for a tiebreaker in the opening set. Both players have been able to win points off of each other’s serve thus far, but no break threats thus far.
3-2 Roddick: Roddick holds serve yet again to retake the lead. A couple of very impressive winners by Roddick in the game.
2-2: Federer easily wins his second straight service game, and we’re at 2-2.
2-1 Roddick: I’m a little late, but Roddick has thus far had the start that he needed to make, holding serve twice to take an early 2-1 lead.
MATCH PREVIEW
Federer owns an 18-2 advantage over Roddick in their head-to-head meetings, and he’s 3-0 against Roddick in Grand Slam finals. No surprise then that Roddick is a major underdog, but he was also an underdog against Andy Murray in the semis, and though Federer has dominated against Roddick, many of their showdowns have been relatively tight.
This is the third time that Roddick and Federer will meet in a Wimbledon final, as they met in back-to-back finals in 2004 and 2005. In 2004, Roddick won the first set 6-4, but Federer won the next three sets 7-5, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4 to win his second straight Wimbledon title. In their rematch the next year, Federer scored a 6-2, 7-6 (7-2), 6-4 win to take the third of his five straight Wimbledon titles.
They also met in the final of the 2006 U.S. Open, with Federer winning 6-2, 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 to win his third straight U.S. Open title.
For what it’s worth, all but one of Roddick’s matches at Wimbledon has been at least four sets (with his quarter against Lleyton Hewitt going five sets), and only one of Federer’s matches has gone to four sets (his third-round match against Philipp Kohlschreiber).
HOW THEY GOT HERE
Federer
1st: beat Yen-Hsun Lu 7-5, 6-3, 6-2
2nd: beat Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-2, 6-2, 6-4
3rd: beat Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-3, 6-2, 6-7 (5-7), 6-1
4th: beat Robin Soderling 6-4, 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-5)
Quarterfinals: beat Ivo Karlovic 6-3, 7-5, 7-6 (7-3)
Semifinals: beat Ivo Tommy Haas 7-6 (7-3), 7-5, 6-3
Roddick
1st: beat Jeremy Chardy 6-3, 7-6 (7-3), 4-6, 6-3
2nd: beat Igor Kunitsyn 6-4, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2
3rd: beat Jurgen Melzer 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (7-2), 4-6, 6-3
4th: beat Tomas Berdych 7-6 (7-4), 6-4, 6-3
Quarterfinals: beat Lleyton Hewitt 6-3, 6-7 (10-12), 7-6 (7-1), 4-6, 6-4
Semifinals: beat Andy Murray 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (9-7), 7-6 (7-5)
