Roger Federer is chasing his ninth Wimbledon title amd will face off one of the Tennis world’s big three in the finals — Novak Djokovic. But will the Swiss be able to finally overcome the Serb? FedEx, as he’s popularly known, has not been able to defeat the Djoker in the last seven years at the majors.
But will today be the day he finally overcomes the current top tennis seed? Federer seems to think “the stars are perfectly aligned” for him to beat Djokovic today.
Federer has been on a roll since he won his 100th title in Dubai earlier this year. He recently beat Rafael Nadal and avenged his 2008 final loss in the semi finals this year. According to official figures, Federer is the only man to have beaten Djokovic in all four majors, and the same goes for Djokovic with Federer.
The duo last met at a Wimbledon final in 2015, where Djokovic emerged as the eventual winner.
13 years
47 showdowns
1 of the most storied rivalries in sport | @DjokerNole | @rogerfedererhttps://t.co/Zx23MWTBjm— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 14, 2019
What have they said about each other?
Two of the big three tennis players have a very healthy rivalry. They both have immense amount of respect for the other and are good friends on and off the court.
At a recent press conference, Roger Federer said: “I think the moment you’ve played somebody probably more than 15 times, especially in recent years also a few times, there’s not that much more left out there.”
Djokovic however is more analytical on Federer’s playing style: “We all know how good he is anywhere, but especially here. This surface complements his game very much. He loves to play very fast. He takes away the time from his opponent. He just rushes you to everything. So for players maybe like Nadal or myself that like to have a little more time, it’s a constant pressure that you have to deal with. I’ve played with Roger in some epic finals here a couple years in a row, so I know what to expect.”
The Wimbledon finals starts today at 5:00pm Dubai time.
ATPTour.com looks at 15 stats you need to know ahead of Djokovic and Federer’s latest encounter:
- One of either Djokovic and Federer has reached the final in all but two editions of The Championships since 2003.
- Djokovic has won his past four matches against Federer and eight of the past 10.
- They have faced off in 13 of the 14 most recent seasons on the ATP Tour.
- Djokovic is competing in his 25th major final, Federer his 31st.
- Their most recent clash at the 2018 Rolex Paris Masters, won by Djokovic in a third-set tie-break.
- Both men have won more matches at Wimbledon than any other Grand Slam (Djokovic 71-10, Federer 101-12).
- Federer became the only player to win 100 matches at a Grand Slam with his quarter-final victory over Kei Nishikori.
- Federer is making his 21st consecutive appearance at Wimbledon. He’s the only player from the draw in his debut appearance (1999) to still be active in singles.
- At 37 years and 340 days, Federer will become the oldest man in the Open Era to win a Grand Slam title if he prevails.
- Djokovic is looking to win his fourth major title since turning 30, which only Federer, Rafael Nadal and Rod Laver have accomplished.
- The Serbian looks to become the first man in the Open Era over the age of 30 to successfully defend a Wimbledon title.
- Djokovic has been aggressive on returns throughout the tournament, racking up 71 break points and converting on 34 (48%). He leads the tournament in return games won (34 of 89, 38%).
- The 32-year-old has been efficient in conserving energy, spending 12 hours and 54 minutes on court to reach the semi-finals.
- Djokovic has held serve in 86 of 92 service games (93%), saving 15 of 24 break points. The World No. 1 has only been broken twice in his past four matches.
- Federer is competing in his 12th Wimbledon final, more than any other player in tournament history.
