• Wimbledon

Federer: I can't believe I made it to five sets

Roger Federer won a first-set tie-break but had to save championship point in the fourth set © Getty Images

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Defeated Wimbledon finalist Roger Federer joked that he "could not believe I made it to five sets" after battling back from championship point down to take Novak Djokovic the distance on Centre Court.

Federer was eventually defeated in three hours and 56 minutes by Djokovic, who claimed his second Wimbledon title and his eighth Grand Slam crown overall.

Becker gets Novak over final hurdle

Novak Djokovic celebrates his Wimbledon triumph with his coaching team, including Boris Becker © Getty Images

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It remains a long way short of Federer's career total of 17 grand slams, but the seven-time Wimbledon champion was proud of his efforts in Sunday's final.

"Can't believe I made it to five, it wasn't looking good there for a while," joked Federer in his on-court interview after being presented with his runners-up platter.

"You know going into a match with Novak that it's going to be rough, physically, because we play such athletic points. I can only say congratulations for the tournament today, it's well deserved. Well deserved."

Federer trailed 5-2 in the fourth set and saved championship point at 5-4 before eventually winning that set 7-5 to take it into a decisive set. The Centre Court crowd was firmly on his side throughout and cooed at his twin daughters as they made an appearance in the players' box at the end of the match.

"I don't know if they quite understand but it's nice that they came out," said Federer when asked about his daughters being there. "I've felt the love out here [on Centre Court] again. I look forward to coming back next year. Thank you guys."

Djokovic himself made an emotional dedication of his triumph to his coaching team, his future wife and unborn baby, as well as his first ever tennis coach Jelena Gencic, who died last year. He will return to No.1 in the world rankings, displacing Rafael Nadal who lost in the quarter-finals at Wimbledon to 19-year-old wildcard Nick Kyrgios.

He also paid tribute to Federer. "I want to congratulate Roger for a great match today, it was a great match to be a part of. He's a magnificent champion and a great role. Thank you for letting me win today!"

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