Roger Federer defied Father Time with a clinical display in the 2017 Wimbledon final, brushing aside the seventh-seeded Marin Cilic 6-3, 6-1, 6-4 in an incredibly one-sided match to lift an unprecedented eight grasscourt Slam at Centre Court in London on Sunday.
Federer, at 35, became the oldest man to ever lift the prestigious title at the All England Club in the open era, breaking the record set by Arthur Ashe in 1975 when the American won at the age of 31.
The iconic Swiss, who had been effervescent in his route to the final, dropping not even a single set, remarkably kept his record intact against a hapless Cilic as he romped home to clinch an unprecedented 19th Grand Slam title.
Federer, who enjoyed an almost-overwhelming head-to-head record against 2014 US Open Champion, was ruthless from the off and never truly looked in trouble.
Cilic seemed to have watched Federer’s wins over Milos Raonic and Tomas Berdych in the previous rounds and unlike his fellow big servers, the 6’5 Croatian was applying the pressure on Federer early on but the Swiss held firm at a crucial juncture in the opening set.
Holding his own serve to equal proceedings at 2-2, Federer then broke Cilic to get the vital breakthrough and accelerated, much to the delight of the crowd gathered at Centre Court, who roared in unison at every point won by the 35-year-old.
After that break, Federer never seemed in any danger on his own serve and broke Cilic again to clinch the first set 6-3, to put the odds overwhelmingly in his favour.
The women’s final on Saturday had witnessed a remarkable blowout in the second set, with Garbine Muguruza trouncing veteran Venus Williams and it was a similar tale on Sunday as Federer broke Cilic multiple times in the second set to send legions of his fans into a tizzy.
Cilic, bidding to become the first Croatian since Goran Ivanisevic in 2001 to win Wimbledon, was in tears as the second set ended and called for a medical timeout but his fortunes, much to his dismay, never changed for the better with Federer firmly keeping his foot on the pedal.
After a number of heartbreaks since last winning the title in 2012, Federer was in an unforgivable mood and not leaving anything to chance and while Cilic put up a brave front, it was only a matter of time before he would be broken in the third set.
And the moment Federer and his massive entourage were waiting for finally came in the seventh game, with the 28-year-old finally folding under pressure.
Fittingly, Federer won match-point with a blistering ace, his 8th of the match to lift his 8th title at the All England Club and as was expected, sobbed as the Centre Court crowd got to their feet to laud arguably, the greatest player of all time.
Federer's fairytale 2017 season doesn't seem to be ending and after having added the Australian Open, the Miami and Indian Wells Masters to his kitty, the 35-year-old keeps defying expectations and should this be a final year as he has hinted earlier, what a year it will have been.