It would be a tall order to top the epic Wimbledon final last year, but Roger Federer and Andy Roddick did their best to do just that. Roddick played the match of his life, but it still wasn't enough to stop the Federer party. In front of tennis royalty, including Pete Sampras, Rod Laver, and Bjorn Borg, Federer outlasted Roddick in what was the longest Final in terms of games played in Wimbledon history. Here is a look at the match.
2009 Wimbledon Final - Roger Federer vs. Andy Roddick
In the first set, it was clear that Andy Roddick had come to play. Of course, Federer did as well and in a sign of things to come, both players served well through 10 games and the score was 5-5. In the 11th game Roddick had a hiccup and faced four break points. In a Federer-like display, he was able to save them all and then go on to break Federer in the next game to take the first set 7-5.
The excellent serving continued on both sides in the second set as there were no breaks heading into the tiebreaker. Roddick stormed out to a 6-2 lead in the breaker and appeared poised to take a commanding 2 sets to 0 lead. Then Federer, like the true champion that he is, made his move. He won the next six points to steal the set and even the match. Roddick missed a makeable volley at 6-5 that should haunt him for some time to come.
After choking away the second set, you figured that Roddick had blown his chance to pull off the upset. You expected Federer to take control from here. Only it didn't happen. Roddick played a strong third set, pushing Federer to another tiebreaker. As has been the case in this rivalry over the years, Federer was once again better on the big points and pulled out another tiebreaker to take a 2 sets to 1 lead.
Surely now Roddick would fold. Only, he didn't. He broke Federer at 2-1 in the 4th to take a 3-1 lead and then held on from there to take the set 6-3. For the first time in their rivalry, Roddick had pushed Federer to a fifth set. If Federer was to win, he would have to do something he had not been able to do through four sets - break Roddick's serve.
In the fifth set, the dominant serving continued on both sides. No one had a sniff on the other's serve until the score was 8-8. In that game Federer fell behind 15-40 and looked to be on the ropes. However, as has been his custom, he came up with the big serves when he needed them and came back to win the game. Serve would continue to hold and it looked like the match could go on all day without a break. It was a riveting fifth set and it was a shame that someone would have to lose. Then at 15-14 Federer, Roddick finally cracked. He played a sloppy game and Federer took advantage and won the match on his first Championship point.
Roddick's Valiant Effort
Andy Roddick went into this match 2-18 career against Federer so you would expect him to go into the match with very little confidence. However, he looked extremely confident and stood toe-to-toe with Federer for almost four and a half hours. It was no surprise that Roddick served well, but it was a huge suprise to see Roddick move as well as he did, and at times, outhit Federer from the baseline. Roddick showed as much heart and fight as he ever has in his career. American tennis fans hope this is a sign of things to come and Roddick will once again be a top contender for Grand Slam titles.
Federer Makes History Once Again
Federer reached several milestones at this year's Wimbledon. Most notably, he broke Sampras' Grand Slam record by winning his 15th Major. He also made the Semis or better in his 21st straight Slam. He made the Finals for the 16th time in 17 majors, an unprecedented achievement. He made his sixth straight Major Final, second only to his own record of 10. He also won Wimbledon for the sixth time, leaving him just one behind Sampras for the most ever. In the Final, he even set a personal record with a whopping 50 aces. Federer has left little doubt that he is the greatest tennis player of all time.
