Federer Reigns on This Turf

Let’s see this again.

Let’s see Andy Roddick throw down serves and bring the volley, the surprise volley that kept Roger Federer flummoxed for a while.

Let’s see Federer curl that lob over the long reach of Roddick or crack that one-handed backhand across the court until the ball lands on the chalk and causes a cloud of white dust to blow in the wind.

Let’s see Roddick wind up and smack that forehand hard, harder, hardest. Let’s see more of the Federer choreography, the twirling footwork on the grass, which always had Federer moving in the right direction to chase down Roddick’s blasts.

The only regret about Sunday’s Wimbledon men’s final was that it didn’t go five sets. Instead, Federer punctuated his second consecutive Wimbledon title by finishing with an ace, then dropping to his back at the end of his 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (3), 6-4 victory over Roddick on Centre Court. It was Federer’s 24th consecutive grass-court win, one more than Pete Sampras at his best and it made Federer the first man to defend a title here since Sampras in 2000.

Tears filled Federer’s eyes as he lay on the ground. “Somehow I feel even more joy this year because I had so much pressure going into this tournament,” Federer said.

“Now to see my name on the board twice in a row, I get more joy out of this.”

The joy came because the battle was brought aggressively to Federer from the start. Roddick came out hitting 145-mph first serves and 130-mph second serves. This was expected. But he also came out rushing the net more than ever. As he said later, “going to the net will never be my first option,” but Roddick did it well early.

In the first set, Federer said: “Andy was playing really well. He was hitting off both sides, backhand and forehand, very hard and deep into the baseline. All I could do was block the ball back. I couldn’t even slice. That is a credit to him.”

There were only three rain-free days during this Wimbledon, and Sunday wasn’t one of them. There was a 36-minute delay after the fifth game of the first set when Roddick had a service break in hand and a 3-2 lead. There was another 40-minute delay after the sixth game of the third set when Roddick was leading 4-2. He had broken Federer’s serve in the third game by hitting two great service returns and forcing Federer into weak replies when he needed to hit shots off his shoe tops.

It was during the second stoppage that Federer made a crucial decision.

After play resumed, Federer was the one playing serve-and-volley tennis and putting more and more pressure on a tiring Roddick. The same serves Roddick had been blasting at 145 mph early were now in the 120s. And the fleet Federer feet were carrying the champion easily forward.

Federer said he thought if he served and volleyed more, “maybe that would allow me to get some more free points and not to have to go every time to a rally because that was the thing that was killing me.

“Because from the baseline, on my serve, he was taking a lot of risk. That was very dangerous for me.”

Federer got his service break back in the first game that Roddick served after the final rain delay. The two played into a tiebreaker, and there Federer gained the momentum for good. The tiebreaker began with a 128-mph ace by Federer, then a 137-mph service winner and 140-mph ace by Roddick, then a 125-mph ace from Federer.

Finally, Roddick got a racket on a second serve on the fifth point, but it was only to send the ball into the net. Then Federer grabbed hold of the tiebreaker by winning two consecutive points on Roddick’s serve -- one a forehand winner, one a breathtaking backhand down the line.

If Roddick looks back with regrets, it will be at the six break-point opportunities he couldn’t convert in the fourth set.

Against Federer’s serve, in the fourth game, Roddick earned a 0-40 advantage with a backhand passing shot. When the ball whizzed past Federer’s head, Roddick shouted, “Yes.” But he celebrated too soon. Roddick missed his best chance when he pummeled a forehand about six inches long on the baseline. Federer then came up with two big serves for deuce. A low-flying forehand service return gave Roddick one more chance in the game, but Federer kicked in another winning serve.

Roddick had two more break chances in the sixth game. On one, Roddick knocked a forehand wide and on another he whacked a backhand wide. Federer held on with an ace to make the score 3-3. With that Roddick seemed to lose his oomph.

With four great points -- the final one a sizzling backhand -- Federer did what Roddick hadn’t done, convert a break point. The murmur of the Centre Court crowd indicated what they thought: the match had just been won. Federer held serve easily in the eighth game for a 5-3 edge. Roddick held serve and then got to 30-30 in the final game, but Federer struck again with a one-handed backhand on the line and with the final ace.

As Federer got up slowly, Roddick came around the net to hug his nemesis. Roddick received a standing ovation before he spoke to the crowd.

“I threw the kitchen sink at him,” Roddick said, “but he went to the bathroom and got a tub. It’s definitely tough losing, but I feel good in myself that I left everything out there. Roger is a great champion and hopefully we’ll get to do this again sometime.”

This is Federer’s third Grand Slam title within a year’s time -- in addition to the two Wimbledon titles, he won the 2004 Australian Open. He is three for three in Grand Slam finals. “He’s got an aura about him in the locker room, that’s for sure,” Roddick said. “I don’t think anybody would argue with that.”

For the first time in their young careers, the two players ranked Nos. 1 and 2 in the world played each other in a major championship finale. The occasion demanded tennis with drama and flair. Roddick provided both early. Federer complied at the end.

But even as Roddick, 21, acknowledged that he and Federer, 22, did not yet have a real rivalry (Federer leads the series, 6-1) because, as Roddick said, “I’ve got to start winning some of these,” the U.S. player did realize that he had put together a foundation with his impressive run.

“I proved that Roger’s not quite invincible,” Roddick said. “He’s pretty close. I proved a lot to myself today. I thought I took it to him and I played the game the way I wanted to play it.”

So did Federer, at the end.

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Sunday at a Glance

* Attendance: 29,128. Last year: 30,522. The total attendance over 14 days was 451,208. In 2003, the total attendance was 470,802.

* Men’s final: Roger Federer (1), Switzerland, beat Andy Roddick (2), 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (3), 6-4.

* Men’s doubles final: Jonas Bjorkman, Sweden, and Todd Woodbridge (1), Australia, beat Julian Knowle, Austria, and Nenad Zimonjic (16), Serbia and Montenegro, 6-1, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.

* Women’s doubles final: Cara Black, Zimbabwe, and Rennae Stubbs (6), Australia, beat Liezel Huber, Russia, and Ai Sugiyama, Japan, (5), 6-3, 7-6 (5).

* Mixed doubles final: Wayne and Cara Black (6), Zimbabwe, beat Woodbridge and Alicia Molik, Australia, 3-6, 7-6 (8), 6-4.

OTHER WIMBLEDON WINNERS

* Women’s singles: Maria Sharapova (13), Russia.

* Men’s 35 doubles: T.J. Middleton and David Wheaton.

* Men’s 45 doubles: Kevin Curren and Johan Kriek (1).

* Women’s 35 doubles: Mima Jausovec, Slovenia, and Jana Novotna, Czech Republic.

* Boys’ singles: Gael Monfils (1), France.

* Girls’ singles: Katerina Bondarenko (6), Ukraine.

* Boys’ doubles: Brendan Evans and Scott Oudsema (2).

* Girls’ doubles: Viktoria Azarenka and Volha Havartsova (3), Belarus.

MEN’S FINAL BOX SCORE

Roger Federer (1) def. Andy Roddick (2), 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (3), 6-4

*--* Federer Roddick First-serve percentage...62 61 Aces...12 11 Double faults...3 5 Unforced errors...28 32 First-serve winning pct....67 74 Second-serve winning pct....58 40 Winners (including service)...55 51 Break points...5-10 4-14 Net points...27-44 21-44 Total points won...150 137 Time of match...2:30

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