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Things were very different when Spencer Gore became the first | :00:00. | :00:12. | |
Wimbledon champion, 128 years ago. Wibble con is in full swing and | :00:13. | :00:20. | |
blessed by good weather the premier club of the world is... And the | :00:21. | :00:26. | |
title goes to Britain. Victory to Maria Bueno on the hottest day of | :00:27. | :00:32. | |
the year. Game, set and match. In the passage through numerous eras | :00:33. | :00:37. | |
the gold and silver trophies have become the most prized possessions | :00:38. | :00:46. | |
for tennis's iconic names. Game, set and match Ms Navratilova. Federer. | :00:47. | :00:52. | |
So who would be the champions to have their names engraved indelibly | :00:53. | :00:55. | |
into history in 2015? Novak Djokovic, the defending | :00:56. | :01:18. | |
Wimbledon champion, seeded 1. Serena Williams, 20-time major champion, | :01:19. | :01:24. | |
number one seed. Roger Federer, seven-times Wimbledon champion, | :01:25. | :01:32. | |
seeded number two. Petra Kvitova, defending Wimbledon champion, seeded | :01:33. | :01:38. | |
two. Andy Murray, 2013 Wimbledon champion, seeded three. Stan | :01:39. | :01:44. | |
Wawrinka, French Open champion, seeded four. Maria Sharapova, | :01:45. | :01:49. | |
five-time major champion, seeded four. With an extra week added to | :01:50. | :02:00. | |
the grass court season between the French Open and Wimbledon, the | :02:01. | :02:03. | |
leading players had never been better rested or prepared. In search | :02:04. | :02:08. | |
of a record 8th Wimbledon crown, nobody was more ready than Roger | :02:09. | :02:14. | |
Federer. I'm aware it's going to take a lot of work. I know it's | :02:15. | :02:18. | |
going to be difficult, but at the same time I know it's possible. The | :02:19. | :02:22. | |
title will be decided by one of the top ten players. Anything els would | :02:23. | :02:27. | |
be a big, big shock, a big surprise for a guy to run from the first | :02:28. | :02:30. | |
round all the way to victory. I'm happy I'm part of that elite group | :02:31. | :02:37. | |
that's got that shot. Serena Williams had her sights set iams had | :02:38. | :02:40. | |
her sights set on something really special - winning all four slams in | :02:41. | :02:45. | |
the same calendar year. This was her 16th Wimbledon visit since her 1998 | :02:46. | :02:52. | |
debut. I was really excited to see everyone. Seeing Pete Samaras, I was | :02:53. | :02:58. | |
like, oh my God, there's Pete Sampras! It was really cool to see | :02:59. | :03:04. | |
players you grew up watching on TV. What's different now is I'm kind of | :03:05. | :03:09. | |
that role, where everyone who has grown up watching me and I'm still | :03:10. | :03:14. | |
playing, which is shocking. Like Federer, the world number one is 33. | :03:15. | :03:22. | |
The same age Martina Navratilova was when she captured a record 9th | :03:23. | :03:28. | |
singles title. When Martina was there, there weren't many people her | :03:29. | :03:33. | |
age and playing. Now a lot of players are 33, 34. They are still | :03:34. | :03:37. | |
playing and still doing really well, so I'm in a little bit different | :03:38. | :03:42. | |
position, where I don't feel like I have to go down to win and dig so | :03:43. | :03:49. | |
deep to win. There was a particular significance to Novak Djokovic's bid | :03:50. | :03:55. | |
for a third title. 30 years earlier his coach and then Wundt kid Boris | :03:56. | :03:59. | |
Becker won the first in history. On the eve of the Championships the | :04:00. | :04:04. | |
champion was in reflective mood. Last year winning against ridgeer in | :04:05. | :04:08. | |
a five-set marathon match, probably the best Grand Slam final match I | :04:09. | :04:15. | |
was part of. Just was incredible feeling. I knew right after the | :04:16. | :04:20. | |
match that next year I would be playing on Monday at 1 .00pm, which | :04:21. | :04:27. | |
makes some things easier in order to concerning the preparation. But | :04:28. | :04:32. | |
joking aside, to be able to open the Centre Court and play on the fresh | :04:33. | :04:40. | |
virgin grass is really a privilege. I can't wait for that. The two time | :04:41. | :04:47. | |
champion would not drop a set during the first week. Petra Kvitova began | :04:48. | :04:54. | |
her quest for a third title at SW 19. I was still the kind of player | :04:55. | :04:59. | |
really playing aggressively. Sometimes it is going into the | :05:00. | :05:03. | |
court. Sometimes it's out, so you never know how it's going to be. I | :05:04. | :05:08. | |
think I'm going to feel the history and the good energy which I really | :05:09. | :05:15. | |
need. I'm really looking forward to these moments before the match. It's | :05:16. | :05:19. | |
going to be very nice and I'm really looking forward. The defending | :05:20. | :05:23. | |
champion was not troubled in week one. One phrase was said more than | :05:24. | :05:30. | |
any other before the first ball was hit - Andy Murray is in the best | :05:31. | :05:35. | |
place I have seen for a long time. The Scot had extended Djokovic on | :05:36. | :05:40. | |
the Parisian clay and was again champion at Queen's. Players improve | :05:41. | :05:44. | |
all the time throughout their career. If you don't, players catch | :05:45. | :05:49. | |
up with you and you start to fall behind. I do feel like I'm made | :05:50. | :05:56. | |
improvements to my game from that period, from 2012, 2013 period. On | :05:57. | :06:01. | |
sun-kissed Wimbledon grass Murray was several classes above his early | :06:02. | :06:08. | |
round appropriates. Victory at Wimbledon would give Serena Williams | :06:09. | :06:13. | |
her 21st major title. The hot favourite breezed through her | :06:14. | :06:17. | |
opener. This was en route to a possible semifinal encounter against | :06:18. | :06:21. | |
a proven champion. When you're able to take a step back from the sport | :06:22. | :06:27. | |
and you realise even the grind of having an everyday routine, you are | :06:28. | :06:31. | |
pretty lucky to be part of that, because you're giving yourself a | :06:32. | :06:34. | |
chance to be part of Wimbledon, part of these amazing Grand Slams and | :06:35. | :06:38. | |
tournaments. From a very young age I still find passion and belief, and a | :06:39. | :06:42. | |
lot of motivation to be a better player. Those are the things that | :06:43. | :06:46. | |
keep me going. Maria Sharapova was another big name to progress to the | :06:47. | :06:55. | |
second week without a loss of a set. As temperatures rose on court Roger | :06:56. | :06:58. | |
Federer barely looked like he had broken a sweat as he swept past his | :06:59. | :07:05. | |
first two opponents with ease. His 34th birthday just weeks away, Mr | :07:06. | :07:10. | |
Imperious rations his tournament accordingly, but insisted he hadn't | :07:11. | :07:14. | |
felt better in years. A mouth watering clash against Murray in the | :07:15. | :07:20. | |
semis was calling. Stan Wawrinka was in pursuit of a rare double, winning | :07:21. | :07:24. | |
the French Open and Wimbledon back to back. More than anyone, he | :07:25. | :07:30. | |
benefited from the calendar change. Yes, Paris was pretty good, to have | :07:31. | :07:35. | |
one more week, that's for sure. I had time to go home a little bit, to | :07:36. | :07:41. | |
rest a little bit. I had time to really practise well on grass, and | :07:42. | :07:45. | |
rest at the same time, so that was perfect to have one more week. | :07:46. | :07:51. | |
Umbrellas are habitually an all too common sight during the Wimbledon | :07:52. | :07:56. | |
fortnight. This years they were more frequently used to shield the | :07:57. | :08:00. | |
players and public from the sunshine than the rain. On Wednesday 1st | :08:01. | :08:06. | |
July, the All England Club recorded the hottest temperatures in its | :08:07. | :08:10. | |
history. Coming into the Wimbledon championships we knew it was going | :08:11. | :08:14. | |
to be hot. We were hoping we might break a record, because we love | :08:15. | :08:19. | |
records being broken. So we were expecting a heat wave, but wow! What | :08:20. | :08:25. | |
a temperature. 36 Celsius, smashing the previous record of 26th June | :08:26. | :08:32. | |
1976, 34.a 5, so easily beating that. 39 years had passed since | :08:33. | :08:38. | |
Bjorn Borg first lifted Wimbledon's gold trophy. From 1978 to 1980 the | :08:39. | :08:44. | |
Swede won at Roland Garros and was then equally invincible on the grass | :08:45. | :08:50. | |
at Wimbledon, a feat that Rafa Nadal completed on two occasions. But it | :08:51. | :08:57. | |
has been a problematical year for the man from ma York captain. | :08:58. | :09:01. | |
Injuries, illness and a self admitted crisis of confidence saw | :09:02. | :09:06. | |
him fall to number ten in the world, his lowest ranking in a decade. In | :09:07. | :09:13. | |
round two, he faced a dangerous opponent, 6 foot 5 Dustin Brown from | :09:14. | :09:20. | |
Germany, an aggressive unorthodox qualifier who had already defeated | :09:21. | :09:25. | |
Rafa on grass once. The 30-year-old had never set foot on the world's | :09:26. | :09:30. | |
most hallowed court before. But as countryman Boris Becker once | :09:31. | :09:34. | |
insisted about himself, it seemed the Centre Court was Brown's back | :09:35. | :09:42. | |
garden. Rafa needed to tread carefully. Daring drop shots and | :09:43. | :09:52. | |
raids to the net were plentiful as the German frequently made Nadal | :09:53. | :09:56. | |
look out of sorts. He took the first set. Game Brown. | :09:57. | :10:18. | |
Nadal ventured forward like his tenacious opponent and claimed the | :10:19. | :10:29. | |
set. But Brown continued to bewilled ter 14-time Grand Slam champion with | :10:30. | :10:32. | |
his wild but often brilliant game. The Centre Court crowd was torn | :10:33. | :10:52. | |
between applauding for the popular Spaniard an enduring favourite, or | :10:53. | :10:57. | |
the Rastafarian showman, who once travelled around the tennis circuit | :10:58. | :11:03. | |
in a camper van. The world number 102 served magnificently throughout | :11:04. | :11:08. | |
and completed the biggest victory of his career with an ace. His tactics | :11:09. | :11:17. | |
were brilliantly devised and perfectly executed. Obviously you're | :11:18. | :11:24. | |
not unbeatable on this surface but it comes more natural to me playing | :11:25. | :11:27. | |
on this, especially with my type of game, I know I can play really well | :11:28. | :11:31. | |
on this. I'm looking forward to the next match. Probably the best day of | :11:32. | :11:38. | |
my life so far. Acknowledging his father, tattooed on his torso, | :11:39. | :11:44. | |
Dustin Brown knew he had outshone one of the game's brightest lights. | :11:45. | :11:48. | |
Helped by Rafa's lack of energy and authority. I was playing well before | :11:49. | :11:54. | |
that tournament, had the right preparation, all of the things I | :11:55. | :11:59. | |
thought would be fine to play at Wimbledon, but obviously today it is | :12:00. | :12:07. | |
not. Ominously it was his fourth straight Wimbledon defeat to one | :12:08. | :12:13. | |
ranked outside to top 100. Heather Watson went to the brink in her | :12:14. | :12:19. | |
opening match, saving three match points against Caroline Garcia of | :12:20. | :12:24. | |
France before beating the 32nd seed. Posters of the opponent in round 3 | :12:25. | :12:30. | |
had once adorned the 23-year-old's bedroom wall back in Guernsey. After | :12:31. | :12:37. | |
Watson's one-time heroine Serena Williams took an effortless 25 | :12:38. | :12:40. | |
minutes to claim the first set, there was no sign of an upset. Then | :12:41. | :12:47. | |
midway through the second Watson galvanised through the addressor. | :12:48. | :12:51. | |
While she flew around the court as if her life depended on it, Williams | :12:52. | :12:55. | |
was yards behind the pace. Humiliation can be painful. The Brit | :12:56. | :13:31. | |
continued to turn the screw, much to the crowd's pleasure. That was | :13:32. | :13:39. | |
probably the most enjoyable atmosphere I've ever played in this | :13:40. | :13:45. | |
my life. The crowd was so loud, the loudest crowd I have ever played in | :13:46. | :13:52. | |
front of. I get goose butches just thinking about it. Being on the | :13:53. | :13:57. | |
court, after winning the second set, the roar. | :13:58. | :14:05. | |
CHEERING. It was just, yeah, it's amazing. Watson took a three games | :14:06. | :14:10. | |
to love lead in the decisive set, cheered on by the strident home | :14:11. | :14:18. | |
fans. I don't think I have ever played the crowd here like that. | :14:19. | :14:20. | |
They were really vocal. They were rooting for their champion | :14:21. | :14:30. | |
to do really well. And you can't blame them. If I was here I would be | :14:31. | :14:36. | |
rooting for her too. Being local, you want to see your girl do really | :14:37. | :14:41. | |
well. Watson served for the match. Worrying a legend is one thing but | :14:42. | :14:47. | |
beating her is another. Williams, like a cornered tigress, clawed her | :14:48. | :14:51. | |
way to survival. I don't feel there is much I did wrong. She was just | :14:52. | :14:58. | |
too good and her experience showed. Now I have to put it in perspective | :14:59. | :15:03. | |
and just be positive about how I played. Yet again, Serena prevailed. | :15:04. | :15:14. | |
But Heather Watson had fought an epic battle. Rarely had a Centre | :15:15. | :15:22. | |
Court crowd's ovation for a loser been more richly deserved. The | :15:23. | :15:26. | |
formidable American had kept her hopes alive of winning the grand | :15:27. | :15:27. | |
slam. As a five-time champion progressed, | :15:28. | :15:37. | |
another past winner said goodbye to Wimbledon. At his 17th and final | :15:38. | :15:46. | |
appearance at the All-England Club, 34-year old Lleyton Hewitt | :15:47. | :15:50. | |
remembered his 2002 victory. I guess more it was a dream to compete at | :15:51. | :15:54. | |
Wimbledon and play there. For me it was always seen as the biggest | :15:55. | :15:58. | |
tournament in the world. I just dreamt of hopefully being able to | :15:59. | :16:03. | |
play on Centre Court one day. In the first round on Court to Mecca, | :16:04. | :16:07. | |
Lleyton Hewitt was paired against a another soon to retire veteran, | :16:08. | :16:14. | |
Finland's Jarkko Nieminen. Bowing out fighting in the only way he | :16:15. | :16:16. | |
knows. A clan of Australian supporters | :16:17. | :16:28. | |
known as the Fanatics lapped up every point their long-time hero ran | :16:29. | :16:30. | |
down. There were flickers of the lusty of | :16:31. | :16:51. | |
old throughout the four hour five sets, but it was eventually time for | :16:52. | :16:56. | |
him to bid a fond farewell. Holding up that great Gold trophy with the | :16:57. | :17:01. | |
pineapple on top, it's so unique and getting the replica trophy back in | :17:02. | :17:03. | |
your house, it's nice to walk on to. There were other Antipodean Mo to | :17:04. | :17:16. | |
cheer for. Court 17, and all Australian second-round showdown was | :17:17. | :17:20. | |
taking place between friends and Wimbledon housemates, Sam Groff and | :17:21. | :17:25. | |
James Duckworth. Both men also share the same coach, Ben Mathias. Sam | :17:26. | :17:33. | |
Groff was playing in his maiden Wimbledon draw. Duckworth had | :17:34. | :17:37. | |
reached round two at SW19 for the first time. Sam Groff was the | :17:38. | :17:43. | |
victor. We reward for his efforts, a Centre Court encounter with Roger | :17:44. | :17:47. | |
Federer. This is what you dream of as a kid. I dreamt of playing | :17:48. | :17:52. | |
Wimbledon and getting the chance to play on a big court here and | :17:53. | :17:56. | |
probably get to play the greatest player of all-time on that court. It | :17:57. | :18:00. | |
helps with the experience of playing him in New York on that court. I | :18:01. | :18:04. | |
will try to take some of those experiences I had there. I will walk | :18:05. | :18:08. | |
out there with a game plan and also know what I'm planning to do out | :18:09. | :18:11. | |
there. It's up to up to me to execute that. This is what every | :18:12. | :18:15. | |
coach dreams of, to be coaching at Wimbledon. I will probably be | :18:16. | :18:21. | |
feeling the same thing he will, I will be nervous, trying to calm him | :18:22. | :18:25. | |
down, but there is nobody to calm me down! But I'm excited. Sam Groff | :18:26. | :18:31. | |
boasts the fastest recorded served in history, 163 mph. How many | :18:32. | :18:37. | |
would-be world number 69 hit to hinder Federer's progress? | :18:38. | :18:47. | |
In the first game, the Australian and announced himself with a 142 mph | :18:48. | :18:57. | |
strike. Then he hit the second fastest delivery in Wimbledon | :18:58. | :19:02. | |
history, just one mile per hour shy of Taylor Dent's all-time record. | :19:03. | :19:08. | |
But when Federer came to terms with the power of the Australian's serve, | :19:09. | :19:14. | |
the task of shaping the win became easier. | :19:15. | :19:22. | |
Federer's serve didn't look too bad either. Game and second set, | :19:23. | :19:35. | |
Federer. Groth lifted his game and took the second set tie-break. At | :19:36. | :19:39. | |
times his touch was way above his ranking. The drama didn't last with | :19:40. | :19:44. | |
Federer regrouping, secure in the early break and Groth was never able | :19:45. | :19:50. | |
to get back on serve. The Swiss progressed through to the fourth | :19:51. | :19:50. | |
round. The powerful Australian's Wimbledon | :19:51. | :20:08. | |
journey was over. The way ahead for the almost | :20:09. | :20:19. | |
faultless Federer was still fraught with danger, with potential | :20:20. | :20:23. | |
match-ups against Andy Murray and Djokovic in line, as he looked to | :20:24. | :20:26. | |
win his first major title in three years. Federer has only won one | :20:27. | :20:31. | |
grand slam final since the Australian Open of 2010. | :20:32. | :20:36. | |
Significantly, that was on the grass at than three years ago. He has | :20:37. | :20:40. | |
played fabulous tennis in the first week, often the case with Federer. | :20:41. | :20:44. | |
All of us are now waiting to see whether the matches get tougher and | :20:45. | :20:49. | |
the possible T he might have to play both Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic | :20:50. | :20:53. | |
to win the title, is he able to win those matches still at the age of | :20:54. | :20:59. | |
34? Like the seven time champion, Serena Williams had also focused her | :21:00. | :21:05. | |
sights on Wimbledon to show age is an irrelevance compared to sheer | :21:06. | :21:11. | |
quality and true tennis greatness. I think actions speak louder than | :21:12. | :21:15. | |
words. Serena has downplayed the pursuit of the calendar year grand | :21:16. | :21:21. | |
slam, or even the "Serena slammed" in 2015. But withdrawing from the | :21:22. | :21:30. | |
doubles with Venus, the fact she did that, that documents how much she is | :21:31. | :21:36. | |
emphasising the pursuit of the grand slam. The world number one couldn't | :21:37. | :21:39. | |
totally avoid the attentions of her sibling. In the fourth round of the | :21:40. | :21:45. | |
singles, her opponent was the five-time champion, venous ebony | :21:46. | :21:54. | |
star Williams. What is her legacy? I don't think her legacy is over yet. | :21:55. | :21:58. | |
It's too early to comment. She has done more than most people have done | :21:59. | :22:04. | |
with several lifetimes, in life and in tennis. So the good part is still | :22:05. | :22:10. | |
good times to come. I would expect more people to be rooting for me. I | :22:11. | :22:19. | |
would be rooting for Venus Williams. Serena said she thought the crowd | :22:20. | :22:25. | |
would cheer for you in the match. She said she knew she would cheer | :22:26. | :22:29. | |
for you if she was in the crowd. That's interesting. I would rather | :22:30. | :22:32. | |
cheer for her! First set, Miss Serena Williams to | :22:33. | :22:49. | |
serve. Ready. Combined, the sisters had monopolised Wimbledon with ten | :22:50. | :22:52. | |
singles titles since the turn-of-the-century. In this, their | :22:53. | :22:58. | |
26th career encounter, it was Serena who dominated from the outset with | :22:59. | :22:59. | |
her big hitting. Tennis legends both may be, but as | :23:00. | :23:21. | |
they embraced at the net, they were simply two close sisters. No hard | :23:22. | :23:26. | |
feelings, never ever. The world number one remained on course to | :23:27. | :23:34. | |
make grand slam history. Defending champion Djokovic was improving with | :23:35. | :23:39. | |
each round, having cruised past Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber and | :23:40. | :23:45. | |
Jarkko Nieminen, he produced another commanding performance to outplay | :23:46. | :23:49. | |
Australian Bernard Tomic to reach the second week. Could anyone halt | :23:50. | :24:00. | |
his masterly progress? The reigning women's champion, Petra Kvitova had | :24:01. | :24:05. | |
been playing superbly. Surrendering only three games in her first two | :24:06. | :24:11. | |
matches. Against Jelena Jankovic, a former world double one, the second | :24:12. | :24:15. | |
seed was a set and break up and it looks like victory was a formality | :24:16. | :24:20. | |
in under one hour. And then suddenly, Kvitova crumbled as her | :24:21. | :24:28. | |
opponent to build a more solid game. The champion found herself in a | :24:29. | :24:31. | |
decider where she continued to unravel. As Kvitova lost her grip on | :24:32. | :24:36. | |
the beloved trophy, an almost astonished Jankovic celebrated. | :24:37. | :24:43. | |
Good evening ladies and gentlemen, press conference for Petra Kvitova. | :24:44. | :24:50. | |
English questions first as usual. Earlier in the week you spoke about | :24:51. | :24:53. | |
when you first won Wimbledon and what it was like to come back and | :24:54. | :24:57. | |
all the pressures at that time. What has it been like this time? Losing | :24:58. | :25:05. | |
in the third round, not making the second week of my favourite | :25:06. | :25:08. | |
tournament, that's really sad for me. I really don't know what I can | :25:09. | :25:18. | |
say, but... That's it. Home hopes were high for Andy Murray. A decade | :25:19. | :25:22. | |
had passed since the Scot first played in the main draw at the | :25:23. | :25:25. | |
All-England Club will stop even including his title year of 2013, | :25:26. | :25:30. | |
his form was perceived as never being better. When you reflect on | :25:31. | :25:35. | |
ten years of Andy Murray at Wimbledon, he has evolved massively, | :25:36. | :25:41. | |
physically and mentally. I don't think he found it particularly easy | :25:42. | :25:45. | |
playing at Wimbledon. I think the pressure and attention and the | :25:46. | :25:49. | |
spotlight, being the best British player playing in the best | :25:50. | :25:52. | |
tournament in the world as the home player. It wasn't particularly easy, | :25:53. | :26:00. | |
but now having won the tournament in 2013 and becoming more experienced | :26:01. | :26:03. | |
with everything that goes with it, I see him as the complete player. I | :26:04. | :26:09. | |
think that when he worked with Ivan Lendl and when he helped him win the | :26:10. | :26:16. | |
Olympic gold and his two Grand Slams, the focus was very much on | :26:17. | :26:20. | |
focusing on helping become more aggressive at the right times and | :26:21. | :26:26. | |
more often. Since he started working with Amelie Mauresmo, because she | :26:27. | :26:29. | |
played and feels the game in the same way Andy does, with the slices | :26:30. | :26:36. | |
and drop shots and lobs and changing the pace and depth of the ball, | :26:37. | :26:41. | |
reading the game really well, I think she has brought those subtle | :26:42. | :26:45. | |
skills back into his game, which is how I taught him to play all those | :26:46. | :26:49. | |
years ago. It's how I like to see tennis played. It was no laughing | :26:50. | :26:55. | |
matter for the champion in round four. Big hitting Kevin Anderson had | :26:56. | :27:02. | |
taken a 2-0 lead on Court One. Time for the world number one to prove | :27:03. | :27:08. | |
just why, right now, he's undeniably the best male player on the planet. | :27:09. | :27:13. | |
Djokovic outplayed the Florida -based South African in the third | :27:14. | :27:15. | |
set. He managed to just hold on the | :27:16. | :27:32. | |
fourth. Frustratingly, fading light stopped | :27:33. | :27:51. | |
play. The match resumed 16 hours later for the deciding set. At 5-5, | :27:52. | :27:59. | |
Anderson dramatically surrendered to the Serb. | :28:00. | :28:14. | |
As the reigning champion egg sailed a huge sigh of relief, the women's | :28:15. | :28:23. | |
quarterfinalists took centre stage. The unconventional Swiss was beaten | :28:24. | :28:30. | |
by the gifted young Spaniard, Garbine Muguruza. | :28:31. | :28:42. | |
Young American Madison Keys is another emergent player with | :28:43. | :28:46. | |
potentially a big future, but this year's hopes were thwarted by | :28:47. | :28:49. | |
Radwanska. The player from the United States | :28:50. | :29:02. | |
pushed Maria Sharapova to a fourth set before falling. The previous | :29:03. | :29:07. | |
month in Paris former world number one Victoria Azarenka forced Serena | :29:08. | :29:11. | |
Williams to play a decider en route to the American taking the title. | :29:12. | :29:15. | |
Williams showed herself to be it's stronger that day. It was a similar | :29:16. | :29:20. | |
story on Centre Court. Serena was only two matches away from winning | :29:21. | :29:26. | |
her 21st major title. Frenchman Gilles Simon has always been a neat | :29:27. | :29:31. | |
and tidy player, but not quite efficient enough to upset the master | :29:32. | :29:36. | |
of tennis grace Federer, who moved on to his tenth Wimbledon final in | :29:37. | :29:43. | |
straight sets. Likewise Andy Murray was simply too ruthlessly efficient | :29:44. | :29:49. | |
for Canada's Vasek Pospisil, playing in his first ever major | :29:50. | :29:59. | |
quarterfinal. After being extended in the previous round, Novak | :30:00. | :30:02. | |
Djokovic decided that haste was the order of the day against US Open | :30:03. | :30:11. | |
champion, Marin Cilic. So it was left to Wawrinka and Frenchman | :30:12. | :30:16. | |
Richard Gasquet, two of the most esthetic performers in the current | :30:17. | :30:21. | |
men's game, to provide the most evenly matched quarterfinal. Both | :30:22. | :30:28. | |
men are supreme exponents of the classic backhand, as the No 1 Court | :30:29. | :30:31. | |
crowd came to admire. But it was Gasquet who came out on | :30:32. | :30:58. | |
top in a truly enthralling contest. The most captivating women's tennis | :30:59. | :31:03. | |
of the fortnight had been when Serena Williams gave Heather Watson | :31:04. | :31:06. | |
and Victoria Azarenka definite opportunities to claim victory. In | :31:07. | :31:10. | |
her semifinal against Maria Sharapova, there were no such | :31:11. | :31:17. | |
chances. Sharapova last beat Williams in 2004. 11 years on, the | :31:18. | :31:24. | |
American's powerful serve and ferocious ground strokes proved too | :31:25. | :31:30. | |
much for the Russian, whose tally of unforced errors didn't help matters. | :31:31. | :31:43. | |
Williams score as 17th successive victory over the fourth seed, to | :31:44. | :31:50. | |
move within one win of a second Serena slam. In the other semi, 13th | :31:51. | :31:57. | |
seed Radwanska faced the 20th seed, Muguruza. The match was a thriller. | :31:58. | :32:03. | |
It see Saud back and forth from the clutches of the Spaniard in the | :32:04. | :32:10. | |
first set... To hands of the Pole, who stole the second to restore | :32:11. | :32:23. | |
party. Finally Muguruza grasped the decider, displaying remarkable | :32:24. | :32:30. | |
composure to win her major maiden semifinal. In an era when Rafael | :32:31. | :32:39. | |
Nadal has played a dominant goal in the men's game, Garbine Muguruza was | :32:40. | :32:43. | |
the first to win a Grand Slam final in 15 years. I am the worst when you | :32:44. | :32:49. | |
see Federer, Djokovic, Murray and me, admitted the 21st seed Richard | :32:50. | :32:53. | |
Gasquet ahead of his major semifinal. Yet the Frenchman had | :32:54. | :32:58. | |
outlasted the new King of Clay, Wawrinka, in the quarters. His | :32:59. | :33:03. | |
opponent, the French Open runner-up, was playing in his sixth consecutive | :33:04. | :33:10. | |
Wimbledon semi. He acknowledged Gasquet's grass court abilities. | :33:11. | :33:19. | |
Aside from Wawrinka, Gasquet had beaten both the Australian Nick | :33:20. | :33:25. | |
Kyrgios and Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov, who in 2014 had proved | :33:26. | :33:34. | |
quality on Wimbledon's grass. However, Djokovic was once more in | :33:35. | :33:40. | |
control of all aspects of his game, playing with poise and precision. | :33:41. | :34:09. | |
While the crowd enjoyed the Frenchman's elegant ground strokes, | :34:10. | :34:15. | |
Gasquet's touch and style were not enough to overcome the robotic | :34:16. | :34:19. | |
relentlessness of the world number one. | :34:20. | :34:30. | |
Hitting anglings like that, few players from the past as well as the | :34:31. | :34:36. | |
present could live with the 28-year-old master. Novak Djokovic | :34:37. | :34:49. | |
reached his 15th final from the last 20 Grand Slam events. The Serb's | :34:50. | :34:53. | |
record in major tournaments is something very special. However, it | :34:54. | :34:58. | |
still has some way to go to eclipse that of Roger Federer, who was four | :34:59. | :35:03. | |
years of age when Boris Becker won his first title at SW 19. I always | :35:04. | :35:11. | |
watched tennis on the TV. The main thing was Wimbledon. I was rooting | :35:12. | :35:17. | |
first for Beckham and then for Edberg. On those hard matches, if | :35:18. | :35:25. | |
one of those two lost... He also learnt a lot from those matches, I | :35:26. | :35:31. | |
believe. Federer's game during the Championships had been near perfect, | :35:32. | :35:36. | |
with one standout weapon in his armoury. He is serving so well. This | :35:37. | :35:43. | |
puts him in a quite comfortable situation. He's not so much under | :35:44. | :35:49. | |
pressure. OK, you are always under pressure, but as he is serving so | :35:50. | :35:55. | |
well, he hardly gets broken. I think he got broken once, and I'm proud of | :35:56. | :35:59. | |
him. Federer and Murray arrived together on Centre Court for the | :36:00. | :36:06. | |
third time in their career. UMPIRE: Roger Federer to serve. | :36:07. | :36:14. | |
Play. Federer was victorious in the Wimbledon final of 2012, while | :36:15. | :36:18. | |
Murray struck back on the same plot of grass to level the head to head | :36:19. | :36:23. | |
record 28 days later in the Olympic final. Since then the Swiss has not | :36:24. | :36:28. | |
added to his major tally, while the Scot has become a double Grand Slam | :36:29. | :36:33. | |
winner. Could Murray halt the maestro's bid for history? | :36:34. | :36:50. | |
Murray was not playing badly. In fact he was playing extremely well, | :36:51. | :36:56. | |
and would have been too good for most other players who set out in | :36:57. | :37:05. | |
the 128-strong draw. However, his opponent had an answer for | :37:06. | :37:07. | |
everything that Murray threw at him. It was one of those days when | :37:08. | :37:26. | |
Federer's tennis was nothing short of magnificent. | :37:27. | :37:45. | |
He outserved the Scot. He outrallied him, and sliced and diced him to | :37:46. | :37:53. | |
such an extent that Murray simply found himself searching for new | :37:54. | :37:55. | |
ideas. UMPIRE: Game and second set, | :37:56. | :38:31. | |
Federer. In the end, the Scot had to accept | :38:32. | :38:52. | |
that there are occasions when the tennis gods bestow superhuman | :38:53. | :38:56. | |
powers, and Federer on this particular afternoon was the chosen | :38:57. | :38:58. | |
one. UMPIRE: Game, set and match, | :38:59. | :39:19. | |
Federer. For those interested in the statistics, the Swiss hit 56 winners | :39:20. | :39:24. | |
and 20 aces. It was a vintage performance from Federer, who was | :39:25. | :39:28. | |
now only one victory away from an 8th Wimbledon title, and 18th Grand | :39:29. | :39:31. | |
Slam crown. Serena Williams was a great champion | :39:32. | :39:51. | |
before this player became her coach, but the Frenchman has directed her | :39:52. | :39:55. | |
to new elves of authority and consistency which weren't always the | :39:56. | :39:59. | |
case before. Her will, her dedication, her fighting spirit, the | :40:00. | :40:04. | |
way she refused to lose is something that I've never seen, she is never | :40:05. | :40:10. | |
satisfied about anything, whether it is during practises or matches. Even | :40:11. | :40:16. | |
when she wins. To be part of writing the history of tennis, even if it is | :40:17. | :40:21. | |
a small part, whatever it is, emotionally it is incredible. | :40:22. | :40:24. | |
Whatever is going to happen in the future, it is already more than | :40:25. | :40:29. | |
enough. Who at the start of the fortnight would have envisaged that | :40:30. | :40:33. | |
Serena's last opponent at the 2015 championships would have been the | :40:34. | :40:37. | |
endearing Spaniard, Garbine Muguruza? I think it is amazing. | :40:38. | :40:43. | |
Amazing is the word. It's been an amazing day, incredible matches, a | :40:44. | :40:51. | |
lot of emotion. One more day. Getting to the final was a great | :40:52. | :40:55. | |
goal. I had made it to the quarterfinals, so it was a big goal. | :40:56. | :40:59. | |
You have to do it, have to lose the fear. You have to be confident. You | :41:00. | :41:03. | |
have your options to win the match. You are in the final. You deserve to | :41:04. | :41:07. | |
be here, so you just have to fight for it. Believe that you can do it. | :41:08. | :41:11. | |
It is the epitome of what a tennis player works for, the finals of | :41:12. | :41:15. | |
Wimbledon. It doesn't get better than that. Whether I would win or | :41:16. | :41:20. | |
lose, all mid life I've dreamt of this moment. To have it happen again | :41:21. | :41:28. | |
is very special. At one end a competitor playing her 25th major | :41:29. | :41:32. | |
final. At the other, a novice vying for the biggest of prizes for the | :41:33. | :41:34. | |
first time. Try as Muguruza did, experience | :41:35. | :41:53. | |
provides a potent advantage in such situations. | :41:54. | :42:07. | |
Most who knew a thing or two seemed to recognise the way this one was | :42:08. | :42:15. | |
progressing. But even the greats can be misled. | :42:16. | :42:58. | |
Muguruza showed indisputably there was enough to her game to suggest | :42:59. | :43:04. | |
one day soon she would be lifting a glittering prize. | :43:05. | :43:16. | |
But Serena is never more dangerous than when threatened. | :43:17. | :43:35. | |
She had set her heart on that 21st major title and what she wants she | :43:36. | :43:45. | |
usually gets. Going into this year, 2015, my goal was to women | :43:46. | :43:52. | |
Wimbledon. It's been, I really wanted to do well here. Holding that | :43:53. | :43:57. | |
trophy feels so good. It feels like the first time every time. The last | :43:58. | :44:00. | |
12 months have been just unbelievable. I definitely don't | :44:01. | :44:04. | |
think I would have written a better story. But yeah, I just feel like it | :44:05. | :44:10. | |
all started at the Open, with me just taking a huge breath and | :44:11. | :44:15. | |
relaxing and saying, Serena, relax, enjoy this. Have fun. After that | :44:16. | :44:22. | |
I've been on this whole super-calm... For me calm. I look | :44:23. | :44:26. | |
really intense on the court but that's a calm Serena. Just enjoying | :44:27. | :44:29. | |
the moments that I have. One o'clock on Tuesday, that's | :44:30. | :44:40. | |
something I really look forward to. I can't wait for that. 30 years ago, | :44:41. | :44:45. | |
Boris Becker opened his legendary wimble -- Wimbledon account with the | :44:46. | :44:54. | |
first of three titles. Now his charge, Djokovic, was looking to | :44:55. | :44:58. | |
equal that achievement against an opponent in Roger Federer, who was | :44:59. | :45:02. | |
in search of an eighth Wimbledon crown. It's a match I was expecting, | :45:03. | :45:09. | |
hoping I could play the entire year. There's a lot of expectations, a lot | :45:10. | :45:15. | |
at stake. It's a weak draw for the sport and we will both be going out | :45:16. | :45:18. | |
to the court very excited and wanting to win. The game is now very | :45:19. | :45:23. | |
much a game of movement. It's whoever moves best who is world | :45:24. | :45:27. | |
number one, plus whoever is fit and can get the job done. Novak has been | :45:28. | :45:34. | |
best on hard courts in the last few years but has improved a tonne on | :45:35. | :45:38. | |
the grass and he knows what expecting Wimbledon finals. It's the | :45:39. | :45:42. | |
same for me. It's always going to be big. He's one of my biggest rivals. | :45:43. | :45:47. | |
Through the matches I have played against him, especially in Grand | :45:48. | :45:50. | |
Slams, I became a better player and understood what I am doing wrong and | :45:51. | :45:54. | |
what I needed to do in order to get in front of him. Yeah, that's a big, | :45:55. | :46:00. | |
big part of his contribution to my progress and my success. I have been | :46:01. | :46:06. | |
playing very well for six matches now. Keep it up for one more match, | :46:07. | :46:15. | |
here we go. The 129th Men's Singles final, a showdown between the worlds | :46:16. | :46:20. | |
two finest players. The defending champion against a seven time | :46:21. | :46:24. | |
winner. The 40th career encounter with Federer leaving Djokovic 20-19. | :46:25. | :46:33. | |
-- leading Djokovic. From the outset it was clear the majority of the | :46:34. | :46:38. | |
crowd support was behind Federer. Masilevu greeted the first break | :46:39. | :46:43. | |
going to the Swiss. -- mass elation greeted. Djokovic fought back. | :46:44. | :47:02. | |
He served to stay in their set, saved a set point and forced a | :47:03. | :47:06. | |
tie-break. Djokovic won the break, helped along | :47:07. | :47:26. | |
the way by an uncharacteristic Federer double fault. | :47:27. | :47:35. | |
In the second, the quality of play was nothing short of immaculate as | :47:36. | :47:49. | |
another tie-break ends you'd. -- ensued. | :47:50. | :47:54. | |
The Serb took a 3-1 lead. The Swiss needed to summon up something | :47:55. | :48:00. | |
special. Djokovic led 4-2 as the players | :48:01. | :48:30. | |
changed ends. Federer struck back and completed the next chapter of | :48:31. | :48:32. | |
the final. The reigning champion handed Federer | :48:33. | :48:47. | |
his first set point. Sensing an unlikely sliver of charity, the | :48:48. | :48:51. | |
Swiss came to the net and struck a decisive backhand volley. | :48:52. | :49:00. | |
15,000 fans roared their approval. Federer had saved seven set points | :49:01. | :49:10. | |
to stay in the match. Could this high-stakes duel remain such a | :49:11. | :49:14. | |
closely fought affair, or could either man surge forward to | :49:15. | :49:15. | |
dominate? The answer, Djokovic cranked his | :49:16. | :49:23. | |
game into another gear. Great champions like Federer do not | :49:24. | :49:44. | |
simply capitulate without dragging out every last ounce of resistance | :49:45. | :49:46. | |
they can muster. But there are some very good reasons | :49:47. | :50:08. | |
why Djokovic has become almost unassailable after a year on top of | :50:09. | :50:12. | |
the world rankings. And with that supremacy, the greatest prizes. As | :50:13. | :50:23. | |
the reigning champion took a 5-3 lead, Federer's dream of a record | :50:24. | :50:25. | |
eighth title slipped away. Djokovic won his ninth grand slam | :50:26. | :50:57. | |
title, overtaking the likes of Jimmy Connors, Andre Agassi and Ivan Lendl | :50:58. | :51:00. | |
in the all-time list of major winners. It feels like the first | :51:01. | :51:05. | |
time every time that I managed to win. It's a very special court, the | :51:06. | :51:11. | |
best tournament and most well-known tennis tournament in the world. A | :51:12. | :51:16. | |
very special occasion. It was not easy after Roland Garros, losing in | :51:17. | :51:20. | |
the final. Having to regroup. But when I was on the court I felt the | :51:21. | :51:26. | |
drive and strength and motivation and self belief to keep going, | :51:27. | :51:30. | |
wanting to go all the way. It's very fulfilling. The champion had matched | :51:31. | :51:35. | |
his coach's Wimbledon accomplishments. Novak Djokovic | :51:36. | :51:43. | |
celebrated his third title success at the All-England Club. | :51:44. | :51:47. |