Roger Federer’s 2017 Wimbledon Victory

The stage was set at the 2017 Wimbledon as 35-year old Roger Federer took on 28-year old Marin Cilic from Croatia for the Men’s Singles Finals. Federer bagged his first Wimbledon title since 2012 and eighth in total as he defeated Marin Cilic 6-3 6-1 6-4. Federer extended his Grand Slam tally to a Grand Total of 19, also becoming the first man to claim the Wimbledon Men’s Singles title eight times.

The match lasted for a total of one hour and forty-one minutes, but it must have appeared much longer to Cilic who was facing physical discomfort during the second set itself. Cilic broke into tears due to a blister on his left foot during the second set of the match. It was sad for the Croatian as he was limited by an injury in the first-ever Wimbledon Finals of his career. What made it worse for Cilic was that he was up against Roger Federer who was playing his 11th Wimbledon Finals.

While Federer was dominating the second set 3-0, Cilic was being attended by a doctor, the tournament referee and the supervisor as he sat on his chair with tears in his eyes. The inevitability of the outcome must have become clear to Cilic as he fought through the pain to put up a fight that was destined to be registered as a losing cause.

But for the Swiss Champion, it couldn’t have gotten any better. After the six months break, Federer had returned to win both the Australian Open and the Wimbledon. The victories put Federer at the joint-fourth position on the all-time list with Helen Wills Moody with 19 Grand Slams. He is now only five behind Margaret Court.

Fourteen years after his first Wimbledon victory, Federer surpassed Pete Sampras and William Renshaw who were first on the list of most Wimbledon titles (Mens) jointly. Now, Federer is only one behind Martina Navratilova who has nine titles. He also became the oldest man in the Open era to win at the All England Club.

But the list of records broken by Federer in this match does not end here. After not dropping a single set in his Finals victory, he became the first man to do so after Bjorn Borg in 1976.

With a fantastic ace down the middle, Federer looked at his family and team as he welled up. These were moments of celebration for the Swiss and his entire family was there to share it with him. His wife Mirka and his four children were ecstatic in the stands at Federer’s marvelous achievement.

“I think the younger twins think this is a nice view and a nice playground – hopefully one day they’ll understand. They come for the finals. It’s a wonderful moment for the family and my team. This one is for us. Thank you to Wimbledon, thank you Switzerland”, said Federer.

Expressing his sympathies towards Cilic, Federer added, “It is cruel sometimes. But Marin fought well and is a hero, so congratulations on a wonderful tournament.”