Djockovic Beats Federer to Win Third Wimbledon Title

London (PNA/Xinhua) — Defending champion Novak Djokovic defeated seven-time winner Roger Federer to claim a third Wimbledon title and a ninth Grand Slam trophy here on Sunday.

The top-seeded Serb took two hours and 56 minutes to win 7-6 (1), 6-7(10), 6-4, 6-3 on Center Court.

The 28-year-old Serb dropped the second set after a 15-minute tiebreak, in which he wasted seven set points.

The match was interrupted by rain for 20 minutes in the third set when Djokovic led 3-2. On returning to the court, Djockovic, also the winner in 2011, took control and deprived the 17-time Grand Slam champion of becoming the oldest Wimbledon titlist of the Open Era.

Federer, 33, said after the match, “Novak played great today, also in the last two weeks, and also last year and the year before that. Today he was tough on the bigger points and at the end he was rock solid. I’m sure he still has many more great years ahead of him.”

In the first set, Federer broke for a 4-2 lead, but Djockovic broke back immediately in the next game but Federer missed two set points before the set needed to be decided by a tiebreak.

Djokovic raised his arms in celebration and knelt to kiss the turf before repeating his tradition of plucking a blade of grass and chewing on it.

He said of Federer: “I knew he would not drop his level too much and he would make me earn every point. He’s not going to lose — I’m going to have to win if I want to lift the trophy.

“The second set tiebreak was frustrating, obviously, not being able to close it out. I knew I could not let this happen against Roger in the final of Wimbledon. But I managed to regroup and during the rain delay got my thoughts together, went back to basics and played a really, really good match after that. Even though this is my third title here, it feels like the first.

He said he will continue to win titles in his career.

“I’m 28. I feel good. I don’t feel old. Hopefully I have many more years in front of me. I’m going to try to push my own limits and see how I can really go.”

In the mixed doubles final, Martina Hingis won her second Wimbledon title in two days when she and India’s Leander Paes crushed Alexander Peya of Austria and Timea Babos of Hungary 6-1, 6-1 in just 41 minutes.

Hingis, 34, had won the women’s doubles with Sania Mirza of India on Saturday. (PNA/Xinhua) JBP/EBP