Anyone of the belief that Roger Federer is one of tennis’ all time greats got some supporting evidence for their argument Sunday morning, as Federer won his eighth Wimbledon title. Federer beat Marin Cilic 6-3, 6-1, 6-4 in Sunday's final, cementing the victory with an ace.
The win pushes the 35-year-old Federer past both Pete Sampras and William Renshaw, who both claimed seven Wimbledon titles, for the most men’s titles at the grass-court major.
“I always believed that I could maybe come back and do it again,” Federer said during a post-match press conference. “And if you believe, you can go really, really far in your life, and I did that. And I’m happy I kept on believing and dreaming, and here I am today for the eighth. It’s fantastic.”
As far as being able to “come back and do it again,” Federer is likely referring to his 2012 title win against Andy Murray. Federer has also won consecutive titles in from 2003 through 2007 and again in 2009.
With Sunday’s win, Federer avenged a 2014 loss to Cilic at the US Open semifinals, where Cilic went on to win his lone Grand Slam title. The native of Bosnia-Herzegovina appeared to be hobbled by an injured left foot, and he never really challenged Federer—who didn’t drop a single set during his two-week domination at the All England Club. According to ESPN Stats & Information, Bjorn Borg was the only other man in the Open era to win Wimbledon without losing a set. Borg accomplished the feat in 1976.
Roger Federer is now the oldest Wimbledon Champion and claims his second Grand Slam of 2017.
