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GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday July 13, 2015
Steel-plated Djokovic a step too far for Federer By Martyn Herman LONDON, England (Reuters) - Novak Djokovic again revealed the true depth of his steely core to grind Wimbledon idol Roger Federer’s hopes of a record eighth title into Centre Court’s baseline dust yesterday. With a sell-out crowd urging Federer to scale the same dizzy heights he reached in eclipsing Britain’s Andy Murray in Friday’s semi-final, Djokovic shrugged off losing a stomach-churning second-set tiebreak to prevail 7-6(1), 6-7(10), 6-4 6-3. After swiping away a forehand winner to end a two-hour 56-minute contest that crackled into life midway through but then fizzled out, top seed Djokovic roared to the grey London sky before kneeling down and nibbling some of the cherished turf. “In the end when I finished the last point, I took out everything that was in me,” Djokovic, who has rebounded magnificently from losing the French Open final to Stanislas Wawrinka and missing out on a full set of majors, said. “It’s a great achievement. Even though it’s the third
title here, it feels like the first. “Obviously, I was disappointed and heartbroken (to lose the French), but if there is one thing that I learned in the sport it’s to recover fast and to leave things behind and move on.” For the second year running in the All England Club’s showpiece final Federer played majestically but
Wo r l d n u m b e r o n e Djokovic now has three Wimbledon titles, the same as his coach Boris Becker, and moves above the likes of Andre Agassi, Jimmy Connors, Ivan Lendl and Ken Rosewall in the all-time list of grand slam collectors. At 28, he already has nine majors to his name and, despite the life-changing jour-
Roger Federer of Switzerland with the runner-up trophy after losing his Men’s Singles Final match against Novak Djokovic of Serbia at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, yesterday. (Reuters/Suzanne Plunkett) could not break down the defences of the game’s ultimate warrior. Twelve months ago he pushed the Serb to five sets. This time the Swiss maestro’s challenge fizzled out in anti-climactic fashion and Djokovic dominated the third and fourth sets of his 17th grand slam final with clinical precision. THREE TITLES
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ney into married life and fatherhood, his hunger for battle remains as voracious as ever. Nearly six years older, Federer had hoped to become the oldest man to win the Wimbledon title in the professional era. But, after saving seven set points and coming through a pulsating second-set tiebreak that will go down as one of the tourna-
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ment’s classics, his well of inspiration ran dry. He will come again, that much is guaranteed, but his chances of winning a record-extending 18th grand slam title are receding. “You know, I still think I had a great tournament,” Federer told reporters. “You can have good tournaments without winning, as well. I still won six matches, lost one. The ratio still remains very good. “But of course you sort of walk away empty-handed. For me a finalist trophy is not the same. Everybody knows that.” FIRST MOVE Second seed Federer made the first move yesterday, breaking for a 4-2 lead, only for Djokovic to hit back immediately. Djokovic escaped at 5-6 when Federer held two set points then ran away with the tiebreak, winning it 7-1 as Federer’s timing, so sweet against third seed Murray, went off a fraction. Sympathetic “aahhs” greeted Federer’s mistakes and he looked in trouble at 4-5 in the second set when Djokovic earned a set point only to waft a loose forehand over the baseline. The real drama was to come. The final’s second tiebreak was in Djokovic’s pocket at 6-3 but Federer summoned some magic, winning a hypnotic 26-stroke rally on the way back to 6-6. With the crowd on the edge of their seats Federer saved three more set points, one when Djokovic slipped over, and then failed to take one of his own before reeling off three points in a row to win it 12-10. “It was frustrating obviously not to be able to close it out,” said Djokovic, who took his anger out by smashing his racquet into his shoes. “I knew that I could not let this happen against Roger in the final of Wimbledon because it might be my last chance.” Instead of fretting over missed opportunities, Djokovic simply got back to business and earned a break point at 1-1 by displaying his freakish court-covering ability before delivering the coup de grace with a deft drop shot. Federer then blazed a forehand long and the momentum switched back to Djokovic. A weather interruption dampened Federer’s fire still further and once they returned to the court Djokovic eased through the third set before breaking twice in the fourth.
Vintage Hodge fires Warriors ... From back page
The Tallawahs needed 180 to win and, despite a Chris Gayle six in the first over, this was a runchase that never looked like being successful. Chadwick Walton went for a three-ball duck, while Gayle departed for 11 in the third over and Bonner was dismissed for 3 in fifth over. Chris Lynn again got off to an explosive start, but again he failed to go on for the Tallawahs and the Aussie went for 16. The resistance instead came from Andre Russell, who despite suffering a bad knock to the knee less than 24 hours earlier against Barbados Tridents took the attack to the Guyana bowling. The hosts were five wickets down but Russell was building momentum and, for a brief spell, it seemed possible that he could deliver a most unlikely victory for Jamaica. But his clean hitting was put to an end by the debutant David Wiese, who celebrated appropriately as the Amazon Warriors more or less secured a notable win. And the Tallawahs must have known it too, losing their last five wickets for just two runs as Ronsford Beaton picked up three wickets in just four balls to wrap up the game.
Crawford ‘saves’ the champs ...
From back page the Uitvlugt team and their supporters some hope but not to be outdone, Multi showed why they have had a stranglehold on the trophy over the past three years. Nifty striker Jovon ‘Ronaldo’ Bobb stepped up and sealed the emphatic win with a tricky shot from the penalty spot, much to the delight of their supporters who flocked the players in the field to celebrate what they felt was a much deserved win. The trip to the quarter-finals puts the defending champions closer to making it five finals in a row while chasing their fourth consecutive title. In the earlier exchanges, the school from the ‘West Side’ came out looking hungry and were more forceful to the ball than their Linden counterparts, but it didn’t take long for ‘Multi’ to stamp their authority on the game. Amar Jones had the best chance of putting the home side up an early goal but he failed to fire into the wide open net and allowed the Uitvlugt defenders to regroup, based on his blunder to clear the ball from within the danger zone. The second stanza was more energetic than the first, but it was ‘Multi’ who literally controlled the game. Uitvlugt were forced to mostly defend throughout the remainder of the game as the championship, fuelled by the cheers from the huge crowd at the venue, pressed the men from Region 3 in search of a winning goal. Bobb probably came close to putting the game away but his Cristiano Ronaldo-inspired acrobatic right-footed shot slammed into the upright after hitting the ball from point-blank range.