London, July 16: Switzerland's Roger Federer defeated Croatia's Marin Cilic by 6-3, 6-1, 6-4 in the final to lift record eighth Wimbledon Tennis Championship title here on Sunday (July 16).
Five years after his last Wimbledon triumph, the 35-year-old Federer captured a record eighth All England Club title without losing a single set in the tournament at the Centre Court.
Federer won the first set by 6-3 as the Croatian showed some skills and tested him, but the Swiss star came back strongly in the second set and won it convincingly by 6-1.
This is Federer's 19th Grand Slam title in a period of 1 hour and 41 minutes.
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— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 16, 2017
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The moment @rogerfederer won #Wimbledon title No.8 pic.twitter.com/rMzNNA6M0K
Cilic struggled to win a second game against Federer in the second set as the latter showed his class and experience.
28-year-old Cilic broke down in tears during the second set as he injured his foot. Physio had to come on the court and give some treatment and painkillers to the Croatian, playing his maiden Wimbledon final. The 6'6-metre tall also took a medical time-out after the end of the second set.
He came back strongly in the third set and won two out of three sets but the 35-year-old Swiss great levelled in the fourth game.
Cilic once again showed great courage and character to take 3-2 lead. But Federer won the next game in his serve within a minute to level the scores in the third set.
Federer then stretched the lead to 5-4 and got the serve for the championship after Cilic won the his fourth game. Finally, the legend clinched the sixth game to create history.
"I never gave up when I started a match. That was my idea today. I gave my best and that's all I could do. I had an amazing journey here. I played the best tennis of my life. I want to thank my team, they gave so much strength to me. It was really tough today and I'm hoping I'm going to come back here and try one more time," Cilic said after ending runner-up.
Federer congratulated Cilic for putting up a brave show and playing despite injury and called him a hero.
"It is cruel sometimes, but he fought well and he's a hero, so congratulations on a wonderful tournament, Marin. You should be really proud. You had a wonderful tournament and sometimes you don't just see great in a final.
"I've got to take more time off, I don't know. I'm going to be gone again for the next six months. Better than winning this trophy is being healthy. I'm feeling great. The tournament I've played, not dropping a set, it's magical. It's too much. It's belief that I can achieve such heights. I wasn't sure if I was going to be here after last year. I had some tough ones, losing to Novak," he added.
"I kept on believing and dreaming and here I am today with the eighth. It's fantastic. It's such a special court. So many legends have marked this court, the women's game, the men's game, mixed, doubles. From day one to finals day, Centre Court is always packed and it's a dream to play here. I hope I can come back next year to try to defend the title," he concluded.
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