Novak Djokovic believes his ability to “pick and choose his moments to peak” was key to winning the 2019 Wimbledon final against Roger Federer as he acknowledged that the Swiss “was the far better player” during the match.
Tennis greats Djokovic and Federer produced a modern-day classic in the showpiece match at the All England Club four years ago as they tussled it out for four hours and 57 minutes, which is the longest Wimbledon singles final in history, with many describing it as one of the greatest matches in the Open Era an
In a seesaw encounter, the duo shared the opening two sets as it went to a deciding set before Djokovic saved two match points at 7−8. It eventually went to a tie-breaker after they were tied on 12 each and the Serbian emerged victorious with a 7–6 (7–5), 1–6, 7–6 (7–4), 4–6, 13–12 (7–3) scoreline.
Federer beat Djokovic in nearly every statistical category on the day as he had more winners, broke serve more, served more aces, won more points and won more service games, but the Serbian was the one to leave with the trophy.
In an interview on 60 Minutes on CBS News, the 24-time Grand Slam winner admitted that he was outplayed on the day.
“That happened in 2019 when I played finals of Wimbledon that, that marathon match, epic match with Roger,” he told journalist Jon Wertheim.
“The sets that I won were all won in tie-breaks, seven-six, seven-six, 13-12. And overall, if you see the stats, he was the far better player in every aspect.
“But I won the match. And so that actually tells you that you can still win if you pick and choose in which moments of the match you’re peaking, and you’re playing your best when it matters.”
Federer has always been a crowd favourite not only at Wimbledon, but at various venues across the globe with Djokovic often having to deal with hostile environments when he took on not only the Swiss, but also several other players, including Rafael Nadal.
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