Roger Federer won a record eighth Wimbledon title and became the tournament's oldest champion Sunday July 16,2017 with a straight-sets victory over injury-hit Marin Cilic who dramatically broke down in tears midway through the final.
Federer claimed his 19th Grand Slam title 6-3, 6-1, 6-4 and at 35 is Wimbledon's oldest men's winner of the modern era, succeeding Arthur Ashe, who was almost 32 when he won in 1976.
However, the Swiss superstar's 11th Wimbledon final, and 29th at the majors, will also be remembered for the moving sight of the popular Cilic breaking down in tears after slipping 3-0 behind in the second set.
The seventh seeded Croatian, the 2014 US Open champion, sobbed inconsolably and buried his head in his towel as his title dream slipped away.
He had his left foot taped at the end of the second set but it was in vain as Federer became the first player since Bjorn Borg in 1976 to win Wimbledon without dropping a set in the entire tournament.
"He's a hero," Federer said of his opponent as he received the trophy.
Twelve months ago, Federer was defeated in five sets in the semi-finals by Milos Raonic and promptly shut down his season to rest a knee injury.
"It's disbelief I can achieve such heights. I wasn't sure I would ever be here in another final after last year," said Federer who turns 36 in three weeks' time.
"I had some tough ones in the finals, losing two against Novak (Djokovic).
"But I always believed. I kept on believing and dreaming I could get back.
"Here am I today with the eighth. It's fantastic, if you keep believing you can go far in your life."
Cilic, who had spent four and a half hours more than Federer getting to the final, said retiring with his injury was never an option.
"I never give up in a match. I gave it my best -- it's all I can do," said Cilic who was still emotional at the trophy presentation.
"I had an amazing journey here. I played the best tennis of my life. I really want to thank my team -- they gave so much strength to me."
Beneath a star-studded Royal Box where Prince William and wife Kate rubbed shoulders with actors Hugh Grant and Bradley Cooper, Cilic had his first break point in the fourth game.
It was saved by Federer and it was to be Cilic's only glimmer of hope.
Nasty fall
Federer broke in the next game when his opponent suffered a nasty fall on the worn surface which was to ultimately undermine his challenge.
Federer then served up two love service games before claiming the opener 6-3 off a Cilic double fault, the Croatian's second of the final.
The Swiss superstar swept into a 3-0 lead in the second set and at the changeover, Cilic slumped in his courtside chair in tears and in obvious pain.
The trainer and doctor were summoned before Cilic hid his head in his towel in a desperate attempt to compose himself.
The 28-year-old held serve on the resumption but the lethal barrage continued, Federer stretching his lead over his friend to 4-1.
Cilic dropped the set 6-1 and called a medical timeout to have his left foot bandaged and take a painkiller.
His discomfort was reflected in his statistics.
By the end of the second set, he had served just two aces compared to the 130 he had fired past bamboozled opponents in his previous six rounds.
Federer pounced again with a break for 4-3 and wrapped up the one-sided final with a second serve ace to complete his coronation after just 1hr 41 minutes.
Fittingly, he too wept at the end.
About Roger Federer
Born on August 8, 1981 in Basel, to Swiss father Robert and South African mother Lynette, Federer started playing tennis at eight.
He won his first ATP title in Milan in 2001 and has racked up trophies every year since with the exception of 2016 when he shut down his season after a semi-final loss at Wimbledon.
That extended rest, to recover from a knee injury, led to his 2017 renaissance with a refreshed Federer winning his 18th major at the Australian Open.
It was after the first of his five Australian Opens in 2004 that he claimed the world number one ranking for the first time.
In his career, he has been at the top of the pile for 302 weeks.
Federer now has eight Wimbledons, breaking the tie of seven he shared with Pete Sampras since 2012, five US Opens and a single French Open.
He has won 26 Masters, a 2008 Olympic doubles gold medal with close friend Stan Wawrinka and a Davis Cup victory for Switzerland in 2014.
Grand Slam Title Won By Roger Federer
The King of Grass
Roger Federer wins a record eighth #Wimbledon title, beating Marin Cilic 6-3 6-1 6-4 in the final
Federer claimed his 19th Grand Slam title 6-3, 6-1, 6-4 and at 35 is Wimbledon's oldest men's winner of the modern era, succeeding Arthur Ashe, who was almost 32 when he won in 1976.
However, the Swiss superstar's 11th Wimbledon final, and 29th at the majors, will also be remembered for the moving sight of the popular Cilic breaking down in tears after slipping 3-0 behind in the second set.
The seventh seeded Croatian, the 2014 US Open champion, sobbed inconsolably and buried his head in his towel as his title dream slipped away.
He had his left foot taped at the end of the second set but it was in vain as Federer became the first player since Bjorn Borg in 1976 to win Wimbledon without dropping a set in the entire tournament.
"He's a hero," Federer said of his opponent as he received the trophy.
Twelve months ago, Federer was defeated in five sets in the semi-finals by Milos Raonic and promptly shut down his season to rest a knee injury.
"It's disbelief I can achieve such heights. I wasn't sure I would ever be here in another final after last year," said Federer who turns 36 in three weeks' time.
"I had some tough ones in the finals, losing two against Novak (Djokovic).
"But I always believed. I kept on believing and dreaming I could get back.
"Here am I today with the eighth. It's fantastic, if you keep believing you can go far in your life."
Cilic, who had spent four and a half hours more than Federer getting to the final, said retiring with his injury was never an option.
"I never give up in a match. I gave it my best -- it's all I can do," said Cilic who was still emotional at the trophy presentation.
"I had an amazing journey here. I played the best tennis of my life. I really want to thank my team -- they gave so much strength to me."
Beneath a star-studded Royal Box where Prince William and wife Kate rubbed shoulders with actors Hugh Grant and Bradley Cooper, Cilic had his first break point in the fourth game.
It was saved by Federer and it was to be Cilic's only glimmer of hope.
Nasty fall
Federer broke in the next game when his opponent suffered a nasty fall on the worn surface which was to ultimately undermine his challenge.
Federer then served up two love service games before claiming the opener 6-3 off a Cilic double fault, the Croatian's second of the final.
The Swiss superstar swept into a 3-0 lead in the second set and at the changeover, Cilic slumped in his courtside chair in tears and in obvious pain.
The trainer and doctor were summoned before Cilic hid his head in his towel in a desperate attempt to compose himself.
The 28-year-old held serve on the resumption but the lethal barrage continued, Federer stretching his lead over his friend to 4-1.
Cilic dropped the set 6-1 and called a medical timeout to have his left foot bandaged and take a painkiller.
His discomfort was reflected in his statistics.
By the end of the second set, he had served just two aces compared to the 130 he had fired past bamboozled opponents in his previous six rounds.
Federer pounced again with a break for 4-3 and wrapped up the one-sided final with a second serve ace to complete his coronation after just 1hr 41 minutes.
Fittingly, he too wept at the end.
Roger Federer becomes 1st player since Bjorn Borg to win title without dropping a set
1. Ken Rosewall 1971 Australian Open:
It was the first time when history was created, not because of the simple reason that Rosewall lifted the trophy, but because he did so without dropping a single set in the entire tournament. He defeated defending champion Arthur Ashe 6–1, 7–5, 6–3 to ink his name for the third time on the Australian Open trophy.
2. Ilie Năstase in 1973 French Open:
With defending champion Andres Gimeno being ousted in the very second round of the tournament, eyes were fixed on Năstase and Arthur Ashe. However, the latter was ceased to go any further in the fourth round, while Năstase sailed into his maiden French Open final. 6-3, 6-3, 6-0 against Nikola Pilić and the Romanian international lifted his first and only French Open title at Roland Garros.
3. Bjorn Borg in 1976 Wimbledon:
The Swedish tennis legend sailed into the quarter-final round of the coveted tournament with much ease, without dropping a single set to face sixth-seed Guillermo Vilas. Another comfortable victory, and then in the semis too as the then 20-year-old Borg stormed into his maiden Wimbledon final. He was up against ever popular Ilie Nastase. Interesting, his opponent too hadn't dropped a set in the tournament. Thus both were on the cusp of creating history. An hour and 50 minutes of intense action and Borg crumbled down Romanian hope to lift his first ever Wimbledon title. He became the third player in Open Era not to lose a single set and clinch the golden trophy. The Swede then went on to win five more at SW19.
4. Bjorn Borg in 1978 and 1980 French Open:
The Wimbledon glory was not the only one as Borg went on to emulate the same on the clay courts of Paris, two years later. Then top-seeded tennis ace, Bjorn Borg was up against the defending champion from Argentina, Guillermo Vilas. A complete one-sided domination as the Swedish international lifted his third French Open title.
He successfully defended his title for two consecutive years with the one in 1980 going a similar way. That was the time when Borg was at the peak of his career. Through the 1978-80 phase, the Swede had completed a French Open-Wimbledon double thrice.
5. Roger Federer in 2007 Australian Open:
The Swiss maestro did end up sharing his name on this list of history too. Defending champion himself, Federer struck down Chilean force Fernando Gonzalez 7–6(7–2), 6–4, 6–4 to win his third title in Sydney. With that, he became the first player since Bjorn Borg in 1980 to win a tournament without dropping a set. Not only so, he is also the first ever to do it so on a hard court.
6. Rafael Nadal in 2008, 2010, 2017 French Open:
Third consecutive final, third consecutive win over Federer in the final and thus, third consecutive French Open title for Rafael Nadal in 2008. A 6–1, 6–3, 6–0 win over the Swiss international was marked as the worst defeat Roger ever faced in his career. Lifting the trophy without losing a set, Nadal became the third player in Open Era to do so on French soil. He went on to emulate his feat in 2010 and then again in 2017, where he completed La Decima in Paris
Roger Federer breaks into top 3 after claiming eighth Wimbledon title
By clinching his 19th Grand Slam title on Sunday July 16,2017 beating Marin Cilic(Croatia)at the 2017 Wimbledon Men's Singles Final, Roger Federer crawled up the ATP rankings ladder to No. 3, finding himself behind Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal, as per the list released afresh on Monday morning July 17,2017
This is the first time that the Swiss international has advanced into the top-3 in 11 months. It was back in August 22, 2016 that Federer had slipped down a spot to No. 4 and then on missing the rest of the season, he found himself to as low as No. 17. It was only with his Australian Open title, at the start of this year, that witnessed the 35-year-old back into the top-10 list.
| Ranking | Player | Points |
| 1 | Andy Murray | 7750 |
| 2 | Rafael Nadal | 7465 |
| 3 | Roger Federer | 6545 |
| 4 | Novak Djokovic | 6325 |
| 5 | Stan Wawrinka | 6140 |
| 6 | Marin Cilic | 5075 |
| 7 | Dominic Thiem | 4030 |
| 8 | Kei Nishikori | 3740 |
| 9 | Milos Raonic | 3310 |
| 10 | Grigor Dimitrov | 3160 |
About Roger Federer
Born on August 8, 1981 in Basel, to Swiss father Robert and South African mother Lynette, Federer started playing tennis at eight.
He won his first ATP title in Milan in 2001 and has racked up trophies every year since with the exception of 2016 when he shut down his season after a semi-final loss at Wimbledon.
That extended rest, to recover from a knee injury, led to his 2017 renaissance with a refreshed Federer winning his 18th major at the Australian Open.
It was after the first of his five Australian Opens in 2004 that he claimed the world number one ranking for the first time.
In his career, he has been at the top of the pile for 302 weeks.
Federer now has eight Wimbledons, breaking the tie of seven he shared with Pete Sampras since 2012, five US Opens and a single French Open.
He has won 26 Masters, a 2008 Olympic doubles gold medal with close friend Stan Wawrinka and a Davis Cup victory for Switzerland in 2014.
Grand Slam Title Won By Roger Federer
- Australian Open (5)2004, 2006-07, 2010, 2017
- French Open (1)2009
- Wimbledon(8) 2003-2007, 2009, 2012, 2017
- U.S. Open (5)2004-2008
Comes back from six-month injury lay-off to win the 2017 Australian Open and, at 35, became the oldest male player to win a grand slam title since Australia's Ken Rosewall won at Melbourne Park in 1972 at the age of 37.
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