The greatest of all times? Of that, there never was any doubt. And great players love creating invincible records to manifest their achievements. Federer did it here.. and how! One of the greatest finals ever to have unfolded on Wimbledon grass, a match that never seemed to end, finally concluded with crowning glory for Roger Federer. A record Grand Slam no 15 and a return to the throne of world tennis, dismantling an absent Rafael Nadal from his numero uno rank.

By the time the marathon duel came to an end, a few glorious statistics had been achieved. Federer etched his name as the highest aggregator of Grand Slam singles titles. 4 hours and 18 mins made it the second longest wimbledon finals of all times(next to 2008 final of 4hrs and 48 mins). The match was the longest ever men's Grand Slam final in terms of games, clocking up a total of 77 across five sets. At 16-14 the final set was the longest fifth set in a men's Grand Slam final in terms of games. Federer served 50 aces, a personal best in all matches and 1 behind an all time Wimbledon high of 51, courtesy Karlovic.

The highly awaited final was studded with glitterati - Laver,Borg,Nataste,Sampras apart from Sachin,Warne and Russell Crowe. But the second set was when Roger Federer, on the brink of falling into a two-set hole to Andy Roddick, reminded Pete Sampras that he hadn't come all the way from Los Angeles to congratulate the first American Wimbledon winner since Sampras won here in 2000. Long before Roddick mis-hit a forehand, finally surrendered, 5-7, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5), 3-6, 16-14, to Federer's quest for a 15th Grand Slam singles victory after 4 hours 18 minutes, Roddick hit a blistering forehand on the first of those four set points in the second-set tie breaker. The ball landed deep in the court, at Federer's feet, on his backhand side. On pure instinct, he flicked at it with his wand of a racket, angled it just enough to direct the ball cross-court, over the net, into open space. "Come on," Federer shouted, convincing nobody except himself that there was still a way out of the trap. He believed because he is Federer. Five points later, it was one-all in sets. The match of Federer's record-setting dreams and - some would say - Roddick's life, was on.

I always believed he was just an unforced error or another winner away to be at level with Roddick. He got it all the same. And the backhand was not just instinct it was that unmatched ability to move and think in the court. Strange enough, it was surprising that a man hitting 50 aces never appeared to be running away with the match. Such was the resolve of the opponent that it took 77 games in a match of 77 games for arguably the best tennis player of all generations to convert a break point. A mind-boggling 107 winners (he had 89 winners in the last final) and it still went to the wire.

The 2nd set tiebreaker does remind us of a US Open quarter finals between Krajicek and Sampras. Krajicek had a pretty good record agains Pete and at that time he won Wimbledon (by beating Pete in the quarters). Krajicek was a set up and led 6-2 in second set tiebreak. Pete came back, won 6 points in a row and won in four sets! Only the greatest of players can do this.

Last year, Bjorn Borg turned out for the final and the match proved a little too much for Federer.This year Pete Sampras had turned up. And Federer was not having a great time in the first-half. But I do agree Sampras became the very reason for Roddick's defeat. He pushed Roger to play harder, tougher and probably crazier (a word Roger kept repeating in his awards speech).

Comparisons with last year's final are inevitable. So which one was more of a tennis treat? Definitely 2008. Service, Volley and even the baseline game was slightly better this year but the return of serve was definitely better than last year. I believe Rafa would have attacked more of Roger's 2nd serve which was patchy in pieces.Federer was again below par in both the matches. 2009 he survived because he served billiantly and 2008 the other way. To me, this one was no less intense, emotionally and psychologically. Get into the shoes of Roddick and his box of people, and you'd have felt the heat. But the rain delays, Roger's fightback and the rivalry between Roger and Rafa made 2008 more memorable. There the context was between "Roger's grass court reign and Rafa's threat to thwart that". There was a great pre-tournamnet buzz back then. Here it was more of a surprise show from Roddick and no pre-match tension or hangover gripped the audience other than Roger's 15th which he would have achieved eventually.

Roger could not play a single lob volley or a drop volley successfully in the entire match, those have been two of his most deceptive weapons since last 3-4 years or even more. That is precisely the reason the match was dragged till eternity until the string lost its tension. Roddick terminating the match with two wayward forehands was an absolute anti-climax. In the end how could you expect him to win when he had hit lesser winners, far lesser aces and had bettered the unforced error count by only 5. But then I can also say that another player had done the same thing last year and turned up champion. However I have always believed that Federer plays his worst tennis against Rafa. Nemesis is not a new word in any game.

To end it on a positive note, I want to spray some uninhibited admiration on the man who lost as a fighter. One of the most brilliant stages of the match was watching Roddick win ten games in a row while serving to stay in the match. Somehow, if Federer would have been serving second in that set, he probably would have been more vulnerable. I was simply floored by the unrelenting determination of this guy. He was conceiving shots which he would not even have thought of 2 years back. His net game was as good as it can get for anyone. His strategy of hammering down aces at Federer's body was a fantastic strategy that was impeccably executed. At Roddick's pace and with the accuracy he had that day, it was marvellous that Roger still managed to return a few of those bodyliners. And in the end, it was awesome to see him wave to the crowd after having lost the marathon. I was happy for Roger but somehow, would have felt better if Andy had won the battle. Alas, he didn't just lose to someone. He just bowed down before the greatest!

Cheers,
Debashish