Federer wins record 8th Wimbledon, dangles possibility of return

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Roger Federer won a record eighth Wimbledon title and 19th Grand Slam title, becoming the tournament's oldest champion with a straight-sets victory over Marin Cilic on Sunday.

The 35-year-old Swiss superstar spent only one hour 41 minutes winning his 11th final 6-3, 6-1, 6-4. He therefore succeeded Arthur Ashe to become Wimbledon's oldest men's winner of the modern era. The latter was almost 32 when he won in 1976.

The match will also be remembered for the moving sight of the popular Cilic breaking down in tears after slipping 3-0 behind in the second set. The seventh-seeded Croatian, the 2014 US Open champion, sobbed inconsolably and buried his head in his towel as his title dream slipped away.

Roger Federer smiles during the men's finals match of the 2017 Wimbledon on July 16, 2017. /VCG Photo

He had his left foot taped at the end of the second set, but it was in vain as Federer became the first player since Bjorn Borg in 1976 to win Wimbledon without dropping a set in the entire tournament.

"He's a hero," Federer said of his opponent. Twelve months ago, Federer was defeated in five sets in the semi-finals by Milos Raonic and promptly shut down his season to rest a knee injury.

"It's disbelief I can achieve such heights. I wasn't sure I would ever be here in another final after last year," said Federer, who turns 36 in three weeks' time and who has now broken the tie for seven Wimbledon titles he shared with Pete Sampras and William Renshaw.

However, Federer admitted that his advancing age and last year's injury issues meant he could not say for certain that he would be back to defend his crown next year.

Roger Federer kisses the trophy after winning the men's singles title during the Wimbledon Championships. /VCG Photo‍

"I hope that I'm back, but there's never a guarantee, especially not at 35," he told reporters.

Federer's resurgence to the game's summit will go down as one of sport's most remarkable comeback tales.

When he exited Wimbledon last year, he spent six months out of tennis through injury. Even the great man himself had doubts as to whether he could ever rekindle the magic that had delivered his last major title in 2012.

But after the doubts were swept away by a sensational victory at the Australian Open in January, Federer made a game-changing career move to skip the clay court season and focus on his favorite surface.

Marin Cilic and Roger Federer (Right) chat at the net after Federer winning the final at the Wimbledon Championships on July 16, 2017. /VCG Photo

Federer said he did not believe that he was going to win two slams this year either.

"But, it's incredible. I don't know how much longer it's going to last. ... But I have just got to always remind myself that health comes first at this point. If I do that, maybe things are actually possible I didn't think were," Federer said.

"Wimbledon was always my favorite tournament, will always be my favorite tournament," said the veteran. "My heroes walked the grounds here and walked the courts here. Because of them, I think I became a better player."

(Source: AFP, Reuters)

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