If Roger Federer wins on Sunday, he will become the oldest Wimbledon champion ever. Federer, 34, will come up against Novak Djokovic in his 10th Wimbledon final after crushing Andy Murray in a jaw-dropping demonstration of his sublime game.
Federer, who won the last of his 17 grand slam titles against Murray in 2012, said he was applauded all the way to the locker room after beating Murray 7-5 7-5 6-4. This is Federer's 40th career meeting with world number one Djokovic.
Whether the second seed can reach the same dizzy heights he achieved against Murray will be the key to the outcome -- anything less will probably not be enough against a player eyeing a third Wimbledon title and ninth grand slam crown.
World number three Murray, who also played superbly on Friday, was simply powerless as 56 winners, including 20 aces, flew past him from all directions on Centre Court. Remarkably, considering Federer's full bore attacking tennis in the semi-final, the Swiss made only 11 unforced errors.
"I'm just able to figure it out very quickly on the grass," Federer said.
Djokovic, who would equal his coach Boris Becker's three Wimbledon titles, trails Federer 19-20 in head-to-heads and knows playing him at Wimbledon is the ultimate challenge.
"This is where he loves to play. This is where he plays his best tennis. The Centre Court of Wimbledon, seven titles. It's his court. He loves it," said the Serb.
"He usually rises up to the occasion. He's always playing his toughest when it matters the most. That's why he's a big champion. We all know how good he is. He's the greatest ever. There are not enough compliments for what he does."
Mutual respect will be put on hold, though, on Sunday when the Centre Court crowd, whose allegiance was split when Murray faced Federer, will be cheering loudest for the Swiss.
In India, you can watch the match live on Star Sports at 6:30 PM today.
(With inputs from Reuters)
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Federer, who won the last of his 17 grand slam titles against Murray in 2012, said he was applauded all the way to the locker room after beating Murray 7-5 7-5 6-4. This is Federer's 40th career meeting with world number one Djokovic.
Whether the second seed can reach the same dizzy heights he achieved against Murray will be the key to the outcome -- anything less will probably not be enough against a player eyeing a third Wimbledon title and ninth grand slam crown.
World number three Murray, who also played superbly on Friday, was simply powerless as 56 winners, including 20 aces, flew past him from all directions on Centre Court. Remarkably, considering Federer's full bore attacking tennis in the semi-final, the Swiss made only 11 unforced errors.
"I'm just able to figure it out very quickly on the grass," Federer said.
Djokovic, who would equal his coach Boris Becker's three Wimbledon titles, trails Federer 19-20 in head-to-heads and knows playing him at Wimbledon is the ultimate challenge.
"This is where he loves to play. This is where he plays his best tennis. The Centre Court of Wimbledon, seven titles. It's his court. He loves it," said the Serb.
"He usually rises up to the occasion. He's always playing his toughest when it matters the most. That's why he's a big champion. We all know how good he is. He's the greatest ever. There are not enough compliments for what he does."
Mutual respect will be put on hold, though, on Sunday when the Centre Court crowd, whose allegiance was split when Murray faced Federer, will be cheering loudest for the Swiss.
In India, you can watch the match live on Star Sports at 6:30 PM today.
(With inputs from Reuters)
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Contact HuffPost India