Roger Federer wins a record 15th Major title at Wimbledon

Roger Federer has triumphed in another marathon final to record his sixth Wimbledon men's singles victory. His opponent, the battling, big-serving American Andy Roddick, again took the tournament's showpiece event into a nail-biting fifth set, in which Federer eventually prevailed 16-14. Victory for the Swiss star secures his record 15th Grand Slam title, surpassing the previous record of 14 which he held jointly with American Pete Sampras. It also propels him back to the top of the ATP world rankings. Federer was stretched to the limit in an unforgettable duel of energy-sapping tension, losing the first set and then trailing 6-2 in the second set tiebreak before winning six consecutive points to level the match. He made little headway on the powerful Roddick serve but remained solid on his own delivery to win the third set on another tiebreak. Roddick, beaten twice in previous SW19 finals by Federer, refused to buckle. He broke at a crucial moment of the fourth with a great backhand to set up an enthralling decider. Federer kept his nose in front in a nerve-racking decider and clinched victory after over four hours when Roddick dropped serve for the only time in the match, at 14-15, when he mishit a forehand.

» More on this story... «

ITN | July 5, 2009

Tags:. .jointly. .showpiece. .forehand. .surpassing. .backhand