Roger Federer, after reaching the final without dropping a set in the entire tournament, continued his remarkable journey as he defeated Marin Cilic on Sunday, in the Wimbledon finals. Federer had a sharp 6-1 advantage against him and it was their first match against each other in 2017. It was a year back that they played each other and the Swiss had prevailed back then in five sets in the quarterfinals. Cilic, on the other hand, had won the US Open back in 2014. This is his eight title and he has won 19 Grand Slams in his entire career. With the win, he becomes the first man to lift the title eight times in the history of Wimbledon Championships.
Apart from the memorable win of Federer, spectators will also remember the distress and despair of Cilic, who had his foot damaged, judging by the strapping around it, before slipping and falling in the fifth game of the match. A doctor and a trainer had been called to attend him at changeover early in the second set. However his despair overpowered him as he sat weeping into his towel. However, Cilic chose to continue and also tried turning the viewers against Federer on Centre Court. As spectators, they wanted to watch Cilic put up a fight and extend the match somewhere near to the two hour mark.
The beginning of the game saw Cilic delivering remarkable ground strokes similar to ones that had shunted Federer in the US Open semi finals, back in 2014. On Sunday, as the match started, he held his serve and led Federer 2-1. Federer however, tried well to hold serve and brought it to 1-1 in the first set. Cilic won the first game and was leading the first set 1-0. Federer, however, won four of the next five games and Cilic, after the brief second set, took a medical time out before the third set began and trainers saw and treated his foot.
Though according to numerous spectators, the quality of the game was disappointing, Federer made sure to put enough pressure on Cilic and prevent his comeback. The end of the match, saw Federer’s 6-3, 6-1, 6-4 victory in just 1 hour 41 minutes. With the historic win, Federer not only won Wimbledon without dropping a set, but also it is the second time that a player has done so in the Open era, after Bjorn Borg, back in 1976.
After his unfortunate win, Cilic stated, “ it was definitely one of the unfortunate days for me for this to happen. I had a really bad blister and fluid came down into the callus. It was really bad luck but I wanted to give my best and try as much as I could.”
Britain Tennis – Wimbledon – All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club, Wimbledon, England – 6/7/16 Switzerland’s Roger Federer celebrates winning his match against Croatia’s Marin Cilic REUTERS/Paul Childs
As Federer stepped up to hold the glorious golden trophy for the eighth time, huge cheers and applause were heard from the crowd. This is his second Grand Slam title of 2017, winning both the Grand Slams that he had participated this year. About the Centre Court, he stated, “ It is such a special court. So many legends have marked this court, the women’s game, the men’s game, mixed, doubles. From day one to finals day, Centre Court is always packed and it’s a dream to play here. I hope I can come back next year to try to defend the title.”