Tennis players are masters of delusion. Ask them to remember a defeat and their memories will be sketchy; invite them to talk you through a big victory and they will wax lyrical for as long as you can spare. When Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer meet in the men’s final here on Sunday, for the second year in a row, everything bad that has gone before will be wiped clean and one thought will occupy their minds: how to win another Wimbledon title.
For Djokovic, the world No1, victory would mean a second straight title and a third in all, which would tie him with his coach, Boris Becker, and John McEnroe. It would also give him a ninth grand slam title and further cement his position at the top of the tree.
For Federer, it would be a record eighth crown, a record 18th grand slam win and, at 33 and 338 days old, make him the oldest man to win Wimbledon in the Open era. More than that, it would be the tennis equivalent of the Second Coming.
The brilliance of his performance in beating Andy Murray on Friday will live long in the memory but it will count for little if the Swiss is turned over by Djokovic, who just about held him off in last year’s final, winning 6-4 in the final set.
Djokovic is probably a marginally better returner than Murray, so Federer will expect to see more balls back around his feet on the baseline or, whenever he serves and volleys, around his toes coming in. Even on his favourite court, with the crowd behind him, he knows he will have to play close to the level of his semi-final if he is to stand a chance.
“Novak’s a great player,” said Federer, whose respect for the Serb has increased over the years as he has mopped up eight grand slam titles. “He’s had great success, unbelievable success, throughout his career. But especially now, the last few years, he’s been unbelievably dominant, especially on the hard courts, then he improved on the grass. On the clay, he’s one of the best, if not the best. He’s become very match-tough. He always shows up. It’s tough to beat him.
“I don’t really think about the match we played against each other last year. I just remember it was unbelievably thrilling. The crowd really got into it.
“I’m just happy to be back in a final. I’m very pleased how well I’m playing. But I need to keep it up for one more match to really make it the perfect couple of weeks.”
The odds are against Federer. His last grand slam title came here in 2012, when he also beat Murray, and the only time he has made a grand slam final since then was here 12 months ago. But he enjoys playing Djokovic, likes the match-up – their head to head record is 20-19 to the Swiss – and grass is the one surface that levels things out. He has done more than enough in his career to worry about proving people wrong but an eighth Wimbledon title would do that.
“My game translates very well to this surface,” he said. “Maybe the moving part, the serve, the half-volleys. I don’t know. I’m just able to figure it out very quickly on the grass.”
While Federer has dropped one set on his way to his 10th Wimbledon final, Djokovic has conceded two, both to South Africa’s Kevin Anderson in the fourth round when he came from two sets down. Aside from that match, he has won all his other encounters without concern, playing with confidence but without ever hitting his full stride. That ought to make him feel confident, but he knows better than to believe it will be anything other than an intense battle.
“It is going to be probably the biggest challenge I can have,” Djokovic said. “Roger and I played many times. We all know how good he is. He’s the greatest ever. There’s not enough praise for what he does. He’s one of the people that made me a better player.
“In the matches against him, I went through a lot of different emotions and things that allowed me to understand what I need to do to become a better player and to win against him and win grand slam trophies.”
Last year’s win was his first grand slam triumph under the guidance of Becker, who joined his team at the end of 2013. There were plenty of doubters early on but the German has grown in his role and now lives every moment with Djokovic. “He goes through the emotions with me, like when he was playing,” he said.
“At least that’s what we talk about and that’s what he tells me. I can see that. There are times when he doesn’t sleep well before the big match, stuff like this. It’s just the connection, the link that you make between the two. There has to be that kind of chemistry in order to really deliver, teamwise, something that you want.”
One other thing. Twelve months ago, Rafael Nadal was the world No1, a title Djokovic regained with victory here. While Djokovic and Federer slug it out, the Spaniard will probably be on a fishing boat or on a golf course, forgetting about his loss of form and confidence. Craig O’Shannessy, the man who masterminded Dustin Brown’s win over Nadal here, believes Nadal may pop into Federer’s mind.
“Federer’s not playing Nadal any more, he’s not in his head,” O’Shannessy said. “When he went through that period when Nadal beat him up mentally, other players were like vultures and it eroded his confidence.
“It might be a coincidence but with no more Rafa lately, Federer’s confidence is sky high and he’s playing the best tennis of his life. It’s probably giving him another percentage or two to say he’s going down and I’m going up.”
In a match almost certain to come down to a few points here or there, one or two percentage points could make all the difference.
