Djokovic Wins Third Wimbledon Title & Ninth Career Grand Slam Championship

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There was a point on Sunday when the outcome looked inevitable, and the fact that it favored Djokovic beating Federer made it all the more amazing.

Here was Djokovic, the man that has dominated the number one rankings for most of the last five calendar years now, and he was the top seed, and favored to beat the number two ranked player in the world, the legendary Roger Federer.

Hard to believe that it has now been a full decade since Federer emerged among the true elites of the game, after grabbing the number one ranking in 2004 and holding onto it until just after that legendary Wimbledon Final in 2008, which he lost to Nadal. That marked a changing of the guard, as Federer lost both the number one ranking, and the aura of invincibility that he had previously enjoyed on the grass courts at Wimbledon. That was the beginning of the end, and minus one year during which Nadal was most injured, from the 2009 French Open title and for the next year, Federer resumed his tennis dominance, piling up more Grand Slam Finals and Grand Slam titles, ending 2009 as the world's number one.

Then it was back to Nadal in 2010, until injuries once again slowed him down. This time, it was not Federer who stepped up Novak Djokovic, who had long remained in the shadow of the two giants of the sport, Federer and Nadal.

Djokovic was not shy about it, but dominated the calendar year of 2011 in such a manner that it was reminiscent of Federer's dominance back in 2004 and 2005, when he not only managed to claim the top ranking among men, but sprinted ahead of everyone else, so that it almost appeared he was in a league all by himself (which he probably was).

Since 2011, it feels a bit like Djokovic is the new Federer. The similarities are often striking, particularly in that each man kept piling up the titles, including the Grand Slam titles, except for the one title that both men struggled to win earlier in their careers: the French Open.

Federer kept losing to Nadal, the eventual champion. At first, he lost if the semifinal. Then, he repeatedly lost to him in the French Open Final itself. Right when it appeared that he was about to do it, he would lose even more convincingly, in a very disheartening fashion. Then suddenly, in 2009, Robin Soderling eliminated Nadal at Rolland Garros, and the door was wide open for Federer. He jumped on the opportunity, and managed to finally win his first (and apparently only) French Open title.

Ditto with Djokovic, who kept getting better, honing his clay court skills, seemingly getting closer to beating Nadal. He kept getting knocked out by Nadal at the French, including in two Finals matches. This year, all the signs were there that Djokovic could finally score a breakthrough. The two men were slated for a big showdown in the quarterfinals, and when they met, Djokovic looked more focused than ever. He won a very tough, back and forth first set, but he had beaten Nadal in the first set before. Except this time, it really was different. He was able to take control of the match in the second set, and then cruised in the third, for a surprisingly easy, and rather anticlimatic, landmark victory. He had finally overcome the hurdle at the French Open that even the mighty Federer had never succeeded in doing, by beating Nadal. Now, all that remained was to win the title, and earn his spot among the sport's true immortals as the eight man in history to earn a career Grand Slam.

Only that is not what happened. He made it to the final, but only after nearly blowing a two sets to none lead in the semifinal against Andy Murray. Then, against Stan Wawrinka, he won the first set, albeit in a shaky manner, before Wawrinka's physical, gritty style began to have their effects on the weary Djokovic. Instead of the ultimate, crowning glory that would immortalize him forever in the sport, Djokovic suffered the biggest disappointment of his career.

And I mention all of this, because it makes his victory on Sunday at Centre Court in Wimbledon really all the more remarkable.

You see, last year, he met Federer in the Wimbledon Final as well, just a few weeks after suffering another grueling, hugely disappointing loss to Nadal in the French Open Final. As close as he got, he watched Nadal hoist the trophy for a record ninth time, while denying Djokovic is first. Yet, Djokovic recovered to reach the Wimbledon Final, but he faced another longtime nemesis in Federer, who pushed Djokovic to the limit. Usually, up to that point in his career, Djokovic was often the man to blink first during such huge showdowns. But he showed off his newly minted mental toughness, and hung on to beat Federer, thus handing Federer his own huge disappointment, and denying the Fed an opportunity at a record-breaking eight Wimbledon title.

Federer had another shot to do it this past Sunday again, but once again, it was Djokovic who he faced, and despite the disappointing loss to Wawrinka, Djokovic looked strong again at Wimbledon.

The first set was almost won by Federer, and he had two set points. But both were denied by Djokovic. In the tie break, Djokovic managed to win a surprisingly lopsided tiebreak to go up by one set.

Then, in the second set, Djokovic began to show a bit of the strain that he is under. In yet another tie-break, Djokovic had six set points, but failed to convert on each of these. He eventually lost the tie-break to Federer, and slammed his racket against his feet, then tried to tear his shirt off, as he yelled in frustration, betraying the strong emotions.

If there was a point where it looked to be slipping away for Djokovic, that was it.

Yet, he was to display his new mental toughness yet again. He survived some tough challenges by Federer to get the break early in the third set, and eventually earned the break himself. He went on to earn a tough third set, and take a 2-1 lead.

In the fourth, Djokovic was masterful, and Federer looked beaten and worn. Djokovic cruised to victory, and had his third chance to taste the grass once again at Centre Court.

He had earned another Wimbledon title, and for the second year in a row, it came against Federer, who is arguably the greatest grass court tennis player in history.

After the match, there was a long delay - an unusually long delay - before the trophy presentation ceremony. As usual, Federer was gracious, even in defeat. And Djokovic was equally gracious in victory. As much criticism as I have heard about both men, they really seem legitimately like class acts to me.

They are both interesting men off the tennis court, as well. Both are fathers, and both speak multiple languages. Novak Djokovic alone speaks seven languages! That takes intelligence! And let me tell you, when he spoke in English before the crowd, he did not speak like someone who could barely put a sentence together. He was articulate and well-spoken, and spoke with no hesitation whatever. This is a champion that we can be proud of on and off the court!