Roger Federer Breaks All-Time Record for Grand-Slam Singles Titles

Roger Federer defeated Andy Roddick 5-7, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5), 3-6, 16-14 in the Wimbledon men's singles final Sunday to win his sixth Wimbledon and break his tie with Pete Sampras for the most men's Grand Slam singles titles ever. Owning a 15th Grand Slam and having won all four majors with his Roland Garros victory a month ago, Roger must be considered either the greatest tennis player ever or at least equal to Rod Laver, who won "The Grand Slam" twice and would almost certainly have won several more majors than his 11 if he hadn't been ineligible for five years during the pre-Open-Era days when pros were excluded from the majors.

Going into the match, Roger was the clear favorite, as he had won 18 of 20 meetings with Andy, but Andy's outstanding serving, his improved quickness, and especially his much-improved backhand put Roger fully to the test. Had Roger not served exceptionally well, with 50 aces, he could not have prevailed, because his groundstrokes weren't sufficiently reliable. He had much more trouble than usual returning Andy's serve, and it wasn't just due to Andy having an exceptional serving day or the difficulty of returning serve on grass. Roger also missed quite a few relatively easy balls during the occasional point that went beyond a serve and a missed return.

Of course, Roger also produced plenty of brilliant groundstrokes, as did Andy. Roger's forehand continued to be his bigger weapon. Andy's forehand used to be unquestionably his better side, but his backhand is catching up. Andy is strong enough to generate a ton of power on the backhand despite a compact swing, and the compactness helps him when he doesn't have much time to prepare his shot or when gusts of wind make a longer swing more precarious.

Roger and Andy also showed us plenty of variety, with a swinging volley by Roger on break point down, a few beautifully delicate half volleys from Andy, lots of slice backhands, and a good number of volleys and overheads.