For the second straight year, Novak Djokovic beat Roger Federer in the Wimbledon final, this time by a score of 7-6, 6-7, 6-4, 6-3 to win his third title at Wimbledon. Djokovic has had little problem playing the role of the villain, as long as it has meant winning a Wimbledon championship. He did so a year ago when most of Centre Court was backing Federer, emerging victorious in a five-set thriller. Before this year’s match, there seemed to be even more sentiment in favor of the 33-year-old Federer and his quest to take sole possession of the lead in career Wimbledon men’s singles titles. But Djokovic rarely succumbs to sentiment. “It’s not the first time that I’ll experience this particular feeling,” Djokovic said before the match. “I’m going to try to use the experience from the first in order to get myself in a right state of mind. His state of mind was exactly right on Sunday as he won his ninth Grand Slam trophy. In addition to his three Wimbledon titles, Djokovic has won five Australian Opens and a United States Open. For Federer, the loss was particularly agonizing because, at his age, it is unclear how many other opportunities he will have. A little over a year ago, when he was ranked No. 8 and the Grand Slam titles seemed to be in the past, some wondered why he continued to play. But his performance at this Wimbledon, when he resembled the same player who won 17 Grand Slam titles, seemed to perfectly explain why. If he continues to play at this level, there are more trophies to win. Sunday was the third time Djokovic, who was seeded first, and the second-seeded Federer had faced each other in the final of a major tournament. Djokovic won here last year, and Federer beat Djokovic at the 2007 United States Open. Djokovic, 28, has won eight of his nine Grand Slam titles since the start of 2011, and he has appeared in finals six other times, putting him in 14 of the 19 major finals in that span. But nothing compares with beating Federer at Wimbledon, he had said. When Djokovic won here last year, he stood during the trophy presentation and at one point covered his face and appeared to be talking to himself. On Friday, Djokovic explained that beating Federer had even more meaning for him than when he won his first Wimbledon final, in 2011 against Rafael Nadal. “I won against the greatest player of all time on grass courts,” Djokovic said after he beat Richard Gasquet in a semifinal match on Friday, “and maybe greatest player of all time over all, Roger, in five sets.” With Federer, Murray and Nadal on the other side of the men’s singles bracket and drawing most of the attention, Djokovic was able to slide through without too much attention. His most difficult match was a two-day, five-set encounter with Kevin Anderson in the round of 16. Then he had to overcome a stiff shoulder in his semifinal against Gasquet. Djokovic said he woke up with the problem that day and vowed it would not hinder him Sunday. As with his declaration about dealing with the support for his opponent, he was right. And for the second straight year, Djokovic was the last man to celebrate.
