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The 2019 Wimbledon final was a rollercoaster match that left Novak Djokovic in ecstasy and Roger Federer disappointed.
Federer squandered two almighty championship points against Djokovic and was left inconsolable in the aftermath of the marathon encounter.
Tennis is not like Football where you take the lead and defend it by running down the clock for the remainder of the game.
In tennis, an unassailable lead—be it a 5-1 lead in a set or two sets to love lead—is of no use until and unless you convert the key points that matter—set point or match point— that takes you through the finishing line.
In the recent past, if there is one player who has floundered at the finishing line, it is none other than Roger Federer. The number of times his opponents came back from the brink of oblivion to spoil Federer's party is just dumbfounding.
Who can the forget the two breakpoints Rafael Nadal had at 5-3 (15-40) in the fifth set when Federer was serving for the 2017 Australian Open Championship? However, Federer managed to weather the storm that day. There have been instances when Federer was not lucky.
Having said that, let us look at 5 critical instances when Roger Federer's serve didn't fire on all cylinders.
#5 2008 Australian Open semifinal - Serving for the first set at 5-4 vs. Novak Djokovic
After beating Djokovic in the 2007 US Open final, the duo would face-off each other at the 2008 Australian Open semifinal for the second consecutive time in a Grand Slam. The first set was on serve until it reached three-all when Federer got a breakpoint at 30-40 and converted it after Djokovic's loosely hit forehand sailed wide of the tramline.
Right from the start of the match, Djokovic's groundstrokes were powerful, pacey, menacing and causing all sorts of trouble for Federer.
At 5-4, Federer, serving for the set, lost the opening point as he hit his forehand onto the net. At 30-all, the Swiss master made an unforced error again by hitting his backhand into the net.
It was 30-40, a breakpoint for Djokovic to make it five-all. But Federer again uncharacteristically bundled his forehand onto the net and missed a great chance to win the first set.
This was a vital momentum shift as Federer's frame of mind was completely rattled and he lost the first set when Djokovic broke his serve at 6-5.
In the second set, the Serb was on a rampage as he broke Federer's serve twice to lead 5-1. Although Federer broke his service game at 5-1, he was merely delaying the inevitable as Djokovic won the second set 6-3.
The third set was tightly contested. Federer had two set points on Djokovic's serve at 6-5 but the Serb produced booming serves to bail himself out of trouble to take the third set into a tiebreaker.
The tiebreaker was again a tight affair. Federer took a 3-1 lead but a silly unforced error from the Swiss master brought the Serb back and he took the tiebreaker 7-5.
Had Federer served well and held his service game at 5-4 in the first set the story of this match might well have been different.
Match result – Djokovic won 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5)
Match duration – 2 hours and 26 minutes
#4 2011 Australian Open semifinal - Serving for the second set at 5-3 vs. Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic's tennis prowess peaked from late 2010.
Again, it is the same plot at the 2008 Australian Open encounter between the two. Djokovic had beaten Federer in five sets at the 2010 US Open semifinal and was keen on stamping his authority in the realm of men's tennis.
Federer—the defending champion—was the No.2 seed and Djokovic was No.3. The first set was an exhibition of vintage passing shots, returns and forehand winners. But it was Djokovic who was dictating play—hitting his potent groundstrokes at will.
No matter what Federer threw at him, the Serbian came back with more vengeance. It almost looked like Federer was playing against an immovable wall, not Djokovic, as he was almost keeping all of the Swiss master's winners and ace-bound serves in play. The first set went to a tiebreaker which Djokovic comfortably won 7-3.
In the second set, both players traded breaks early in the set. Djokovic's stroke play was frustrating Federer. However, at 3-2 in the second set, there was an unlikely window of opportunity when Federer found himself at 15-30 on Djokovic's serve.
Federer then hit an astounding on-the-line backhand winner to get two break points and converted it after Djokovic netted a long rally.
Federer was serving for the set at 5-3. Djokovic quickly raised to a 15-30 lead and on the next point, fired a forehand winner to get two break points at 15-40.
Federer saved the first break point but on the next one, he hit a drop shot that landed a little deep which opened the door for Djokovic to fire home another forehand winner to make it 5-4 and back on serve.
The missed opportunity kept replaying over Federer's mind as he was easily broken in the following game and Djokovic won the set 7-5. The two-set lead perhaps knocked the winds of the sails for Federer as he was broken at 4-4 in the third set and lost the match in three sets.
Federer missed another opportunity to serve for the set against his new arch-rival. Had he served well, he would have won the second set and the result of the match could have well been different.
Match result – Djokovic won 7-6 (7-3), 7-5, 6-4
Match duration – 3 hours
#3 2011 French Open final - Serving for the first set at 5-2 vs. Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal was the favorite at the 2011 Roland Garros but Federer was not behind, as he defeated Djokovic in four sets in the semifinal to reach the summit clash.
Nadal evaded his nemesis Novak Djokovic in the final, who had defeated him in straight sets at the finals in Madrid and Rome that year.
Federer broke the Nadal in the first service game and raced to a 3-0 lead. He was cruising in the first set with a double break of serve and got a set point when he led 5-2. However, a few unforced errors saw the game vanish and Nadal clawed back to 5-3, still a breakdown.
Another iffy game from Federer saw Nadal breaking back his serve and leveling the first set at 5-5. Then the inconceivable happened again as Nadal broke Federer at 5-5 to win six games in a row and wrap up the first set 7-5.
In the second set, Nadal was serving for a two-set lead at 5-4, (40-30), but a forehand error made it deuce and this was when the match had a 10-minute rain delay. Nadal had another set point when the match resumed, but Federer saved that one too and broke Nadal to make it 5-5.
The second set went to a tie-breaker and Nadal quickly raced to a 4-0 lead and eventually won the tie-breaker 7-3.
In the third set, Nadal broke Federer to race to a 4-2 lead and it appeared that it was game over for Federer. But Fedal clashes never end without pulsating drama and suspense.
It was at this stage that Federer started to play some unbelievable drop shots combined with well-directed winners and took the third set 7-5. All of a sudden it looked like the 2008 Wimbledon final plot was about to reincarnate itself.
But that wasn’t to be as Nadal come out all guns blazing in the fourth set, and Federer didn’t have an answer. The Spaniard won the set 6-1 and with it the French Open.
The match result could have been different had Federer capitalized on the double break of serve when he led 5-2 in the first set.
Match result – Nadal won 7-5, 7-6 (7-3), 5-7, 6-1
Match duration – 3 hours and 40 minutes
#2 2011 US Open semifinal - Serving for the match at 5-3 in the fifth set vs. Novak Djokovic
2011 was the first Slam-less year for Federer since 2002. He reached the semi-final of the Australian Open where he lost to Djokovic in three sets, the French Open final where he lost Nadal in four and the quarterfinal of Wimbledon where he lost to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in five sets.
This was the second consecutive year in which both players would lock horns at the 2011 US Open semifinals. Both players before this bout had a tight match at the 2011 French Open semi-final, which Federer won in four sets.
Federer won the first two sets, but Djokovic won the next two in quick succession to level the match and force into a decider.
The drama unfolded in the fifth set at 4-3 when Federer broke the Serb’s serve to love to take a crucial 5-3 lead. Serving for the match at 40-15, the Swiss Master looked well on course for another showdown with Nadal—their possible maiden encounter at Flushing Meadows. But as in the previous encounters against Federer, Djokovic was at his unflappable best.
Djokovic saved the first match point by smashing a return that flew past Federer even before he could react. It was 40-30 and Federer still had a chance to close out the match on his serve. However, an unforced error, which saw Federer’s forehand hit the net cord, made it 40-40, and Federer double-faulted to surrender the game back to Djokovic.
Federer couldn’t recover from the zenith of Djokovic’s resurgence and dropped the next three games and the match.
This was another golden opportunity to get a victory on his new nemesis but Federer's serve botched at the penultimate moment.
Match result – Djokovic won 6-7 (9-7), 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 7-5
Match duration – 3 hours and 51 minutes
#1 2009 US Open final - Serving for the second set at 5-4 and a two-set lead vs. Juan Martin Del Potro
Federer was the No.1 seed and defeated Novak Djokovic in straight sets in the semifinal. Del Potro was seeded sixth and defeated Rafael Nadal also in similar fashion to reach the final.
Federer was unstoppable in the first set. He broke Del Potro in the second game with an amazing inside-in forehand winner and consolidated by holding his serve to take a 3-0 lead and went on to win the opening set 6-3.
In the second set, Del Potro double-faulted on break point to allow Federer to get the break of serve in the opening game.. It was 5-4 (30-30) and Del Potro’s chance to win the US Open was on a knife-edge as Federer was just two points away from a two-set lead.
At 30-30, Del Potro was too far behind the baseline, and with Federer approaching the net, Del Potro hit an inside-out forehand winner that was called out by the umpire.
But it was at this stage technology would prove to be a knight in shining armour for Del Potro, as he was quick to challenge the call and the replay showed that the ball had just barely caressed the line.
All of a sudden the Argentinian had a break point and he broke Federer's serve to make it 5-5 with a carbon copy of the same shot, but this time the ball was well inside the line.
Federer’s approach to venture the net was badly misfiring as it enabled Del Potro to take risky chances that paid off. He would go to win the second set 7-6 (7-5) in a tie-breaker.
In the third set, both players exchanged a break of serves in the seventh and eighth game. Federer had a set point on the Del Potro serve at 4-5 (30-40) in the third game. Unnerved by the situation, Del Potro double-faulted to lose and gift Federer the third set.
In the fourth set, Federer had two break points early on at 1-0. The Argentinian remarkably saved both the break points with two consecutive forehand winners. Del Potro saved another break point at 2-1 with a forehand passing shot.
At 2-2, Del Potro had three-point break-points with a chance to get a critical break of serve in the fourth set. He did just that after Federer sent his forehand wide.
But Federer would break Del Potro back in the eighth game to make 4-4, and the set went to a tie-breaker. Del Potro took control of the tie-break and rose to a 3-0 lead. He had two set points at 6-4 when Federer sent his forehand too long which made it two games a piece.
In the fifth set, Del Potro led 1-0 and had a break point at 30-40. Federer committed the cardinal sin of approaching the net prematurely and Del Potro made him pay dearly by firing a forehand winner and got an important break of serve to lead 2-0.
After that, Federer was in a state of consternation and couldn’t seem to find a way to get back in the match. Del Potro had a championship point at 5-2 and converted it after Federer sent his backhand long behind the baseline.
The Argentinian couldn’t control his emotions as he won his first Grand Slam at the age of 20 and in the process, is the only player outside the top 5 in history to beat both Federer and Nadal in the same grand slam.
But in the overall scheme of things, this was one match Federer should have won in straight or four sets, had he just been a little more cautious with his approach and tactics at critical junctures in the match. It was more so especially when he was serving for the second set at 5-4 and when he had multiple break point opportunities in the fourth set.
Match result – Del Potro won 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2
Match duration – 4 hours and 6 minutes
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