WIMBLEDON, England — When Roger Federer
and his growing family embarked on a new tennis season in 2017 after
his six-month injury layoff, the big goal was winning Wimbledon.
Check.
It
has been that sort of tour-de-force season for Federer, the 35-year-old
Swiss maestro who might not yet have regained the No. 1 ranking but is
firmly atop the sport on every surface except clay.
On
Sunday, he won his eighth Wimbledon singles championship and 19th Grand
Slam singles title by defeating Marin Cilic in straight sets, 6-3, 6-1,
6-4. The victory, his first at Wimbledon since 2012, made Federer the
oldest man to win at the All England Club in the Open era, which began
in 1968.
It also broke Federer’s tie with William Renshaw and Pete Sampras, who each won Wimbledon seven times.
He also became the first man since Bjorn Borg in 1976 to win Wimbledon without dropping a set.
“The
tournament I played, not dropping a set, it’s magical really,” Federer
said in the postmatch ceremony with the trophy back in his hands.
Cilic, seeded No. 7, defeated Federer in straight sets in the semifinals of the United States Open
on his way to the title. He had three match points against Federer in
the quarterfinals at Wimbledon last year before Federer prevailed in
five sets.
A
hard-fought, close match in this final would have been no surprise.
Instead, it turned into a rout as Cilic struggled for consistency and
with his emotions.
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