Greatness Over Grit Wins 2009 Wimbledon Title for Federer and Record Setting 15th Slam Singles Title

It took 16 Grand Slam tennis events before Roger Federer won his first championship, defeating Mark Philippoussis to earn the 2003 Wimbledon Title. Since then he had racked up 13 more Grand Slam Titles tying Pete Sampras (14 Grand Slam Titles) atop the tennis major title board.

When it came to winning his record setting 15th Grand Slam tennis event it took a record 16 game wins in the final set to defeat a gritty Andy Roddick, 5-7, 7-6 (8-6), 7-6 (7-5), 3-6, 16-14 and etch his name at the summit of the all-time Grand Slam men’s singles championship list.

The win by the 27 year old Federer who has been ranked in the top 10 of the end of season ATP rankings every year since 2002, came against the only other player that shares that distinction. Although the 26 year old Roddick, an Omaha, Nebraska native, now living Austin, Texas, has played in the shadow of Federer much of his career, he has been the only other player to finish in that top 10 ATP ranking from 2008 through 2008.

In set number two Federer, who was down 6-2 in the tie breaker, staved off 4-consecutive set points before completing the second set comeback to even the 2009 match with an American trying to win his first Wimbledon Title. Roddick, who with a win would have kept his fellow American Sampras tied at the top for a few more weeks at least, was nearly perfect in his serving game, saving serve in 37 consecutive service game opportunities. But champions are, if nothing else resilient and Federer held on when Roddick’s flirt with serving perfection finally escaped him in the final set to win his 15th Grand Slam championship, by finally breaking the American’s serve.

The win by Federer, his sixth Wimbledon title, was his third in as many tries against Roddick in a Wimbledon final (2004, 2005 & 2009), pushing his overall record against the American to 19-2.

The only other player who Federer has faced three times in a Wimbledon final, Rafael Nadal, has not only evolved to be his biggest foil in tennis, but was the man who kept him from winning his sixth straight on the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in 2008.

Now, Federer, who has fashioned a record of 182-26 in Grand Slam events, including a record of 15-5 in championship matches, can begin his attempt to set the bar higher in a sport that has seen, arguably, over the last 40 years, the best talent in its history. And Federer, by the numbers at least, is the best.

But there is much left to weigh even with the numbers. Among his contemporaries and arguably his toughest foe, match in and match out is Nadal, who ended the Federer record of 237 consecutive weeks ranked number one in the world in August of 2008.  The streak began on Ground Hog’s Day, February 2, 2004 and Federer gets to relive the feeling of being the number one ranked (ATP) player in the world all over again. But, Nadal, when healthy is more than a formidable challenge having won five Grand Slam titles.

Nadal, who lost in the 2009 French Open and failed to defend his 2008 French Title, has won 13 of 20 matches with Federer. However he has been nursing knees that have failed to withstand the pounding his body takes with his frenetically paced play and was not able to defend his 2008 Wimbledon championship leaving some asking “what if”?

The fans still enjoyed great tennis and did so in the company of past tennis greats who watched from the Royal Box as history was made at Centre Court. Pete Sampras, Bjorn Borg and Rod Laver, who make up much of the tennis royalty of the last 40 plus years of the “Open ERA”, devoured the action as it unfolded and each could appreciate the quality of play from different perspectives.

Sampras flew in from the states and arrived during the third game of the first set without having to worry about missing anything. The best was yet to come. His record total of 14 Grand Slam Singles Titles, including 7-Wimbledon titles had been tied when Federer won the French Open. His fellow American did the best he could to keep Sampras tied at the top but in the end the native of Basel, Switzerland had added a 15th Grand Slam Trophy to his collection.

Among the amazing aspects of this achievement, it has only taken Federer seven years to accomplish what took Sampras 13 years.

Borg was an 11-time Grand Slam Champion, over eight years, who won five straight at Wimbledon from 1976 to 1980 to go with six French Open titles. He sat next to Laver one of the greats who bridged the ERA of tennis past to the “Open ERA” when the Grand Slam events were open to amateur and professional players.

Laver won all four Grand Slam singles titles twice in one year, in 1962, when he as an amateur and again in 1969 as a professional, becoming the only player to do so in the Open ERA (1968 to present). Laver could probably relate as well as anyone in attendance, player or fans to the 77 game battle that Federer and Roddick experienced Wimbledon. He defeated fellow Australian Tony Roche in a 1969 Australian Open Semifinal surviving a grueling five set 90 game test of wills en route to the title.

In the end those three tennis greats joined the man who made history on Sunday, July 5, 2009, in a picture of champions, the Champion of the 123rd Wimbledon Lawn Tennis event, Roger Federer.