Roger Federer suffered some devastating defeats throughout his illustrious career, but arguably none stung more than the 2019 Wimbledon final.
There, the 20-time Grand Slam champion contested an enthralling affair with Novak Djokovic in what turned out to be the final major final of Federer’s career.
The longest final in the history of the event to date, even now it seems impossible to think that the legendary veteran did not win this match.
He outplayed his opponent in nearly every metric and even served for the match during the marathon fifth set, but he could not see it out. He lost in the following tiebreak.
Roger Federer had lost, yet remained as cool, calm and insightful as ever in the post-match.
Roger Federer’s runners-up speech at Wimbledon 2019
Speaking on-court immediately after such a crushing loss, he began by claiming: ‘‘I’ll try to forget. But, no, it was a great match. It was long. It had everything. I had my chances, so did he and I thought we played great tennis. So in a way, I have to be very happy with my performance as well, but Novak… great. Congratulations, man. That was crazy.’
Interviewed by Sue Barker, she asked: ‘I think there are 37-year-olds around the world thinking how do you do this? How can you still be playing at your best?’
His response seemingly offered a glimpse into Djokovic’s future, who was just 32 at the time. Federer continued: ‘Well, yeah, I hope I give some other people a chance to believe that at 37 it’s not over yet.
‘And yeah, I feel great. You know, I’m and obviously it’s gonna take some time to recover physically too, but it’s all good, you know. I couldn’t give any more. I gave it all I had. I still feel right, I’m still standing. So it’s good, and I wish the same for the other 37-year-olds.’
The Swiss superstar would retire from the sport just three years on from this defeat, which is interesting given all the current speculation surrounding when Djokovic might retire from tennis.
Novak Djokovic is following in Roger Federer’s footsteps
It’s ironic that, despite Djokovic having surpassed the 43-year-old in the number of Grand Slam and Masters 1000 titles won, he is still following in Federer’s footsteps.
After all, he was a trailblazer, and seemingly everything he did rewrote tennis history.
Even the fact that he played tennis as late as he did, only retiring at the ripe age of 40, was truly mind-boggling.
Djokovic will be hoping to mimic that feat, to give himself as many chances as possible to claim that coveted 25th Major title.
At the time of that Wimbledon speech, Federer did not know what was to come from his generational rival. And yet, his words will resonate with the Serbian now more than ever, as he has just turned 38 ahead of a return to the All-England Club.
Only now will Djokovic understand just how hard it is to compete at this age and remain at the apex of the sport, no longer the true dominant force on tour.
