Federer wins third straight Wimbledon title
The world’s number one tennis player, Switzerland’s Roger Federer, has won his third Wimbledon title in a row – only the third man to do so since 1936.
The 23-year-old Federer defeated number two seed, the American Andy Roddick, in three sets, 6-2, 7-6, 6-4.
With an impeccable performance, even by his high standards, the top-ranked Federer became the third man in the open era to win three straight Wimbledon crowns, joining seven-time champion Pete Sampras and five-time winner Björn Borg.
The Swiss star needed just over 20 minutes to win the first set, before Roddick showed the form which got him to the final, pushing Federer to a tie-break.
Federer never looked back in the third and final set after breaking Roddick’s serve with the set tied, 3-3.
After hitting the match winner, Federer screamed with joy, fell to his knees, rolled onto his back and covered his face with his hands.
Federer finished with 49 winners and just 12 unforced errors in the match.
Roddick rivalry
“Pity for him, but I really did play my best,” Federer said about his opponent after the match.
“I hope it’s not going to stop with three. Maybe one day I’ll win a fourth one, but this one is already very, very great.”
It was also the third time in a row that Federer defeated Roddick at Wimbledon, including the past two finals, and leads the rivalry 9-1.
Federer’s victory in a final was his 21st consecutive and he is 5-0 in Grand Slam finals, becoming the first man since Tony Trabert in 1953-55 to win his first five major finals.
Federer lost in the semi-finals of the first two Grand Slam events this year; the Australian Open to Marat Safin, and the French Open to Rafael Nadal.
swissinfo with agencies
Federer follows Björn Borg (five straight 1976-1980) and Pete Sampras (1993-95 and 1997–2000) in winning three straight Wimbledon titles since 1936.
The 2005 Wimbledon victory is Federer’s fifth Grand Slam title – the first this year. He has won seven other tournaments in 2005.
He is undefeated in 36 matches on grass.
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