En route to his seventh Wimbledon title, Roger Federer had to play a five-set epic against Julien Benneteau in the third round itself. A lot was at stake during his semi-final clash against Novak Djokovic who was defending his first title at the All England Club.
After having won the first set 6-4, Djokovic won the second set 6-3. At deuce and on serve at 3-2, Djokovic’s serve was sliced by Federer who barely managed to keep the ball in play. While Djokovic was trying to wrestle the initiative with every passing stroke, Federer just wanted to tire his opponent and suck every ounce of energy within him. Playing every shot like he was warming up, Federer wanted to take it easy during the rally.
Finally, after 25 strokes, Djokovic fired a thundering forehand crosscourt thinking about a job well done. But Federer had other ideas. Swooping across the court, Federer returned the shot with a silken backhand down the line which did not seem to be as powerful as it seemed to the naked eye. Djokovic managed to reach the ball but couldn’t get the ball back across the court. The crowd were ecstatic as their favourite had taken another step forward towards the title. The point even had his wife Mirka grinning from ear to ear while his father sat back and soaked in the applause.
