to move up and down
Tears of joy and sadness: There were going to be tears at the end of this Wimbledon men’s final, because both Roger Federer and Andy Murray have some precedent there.
In the end, they came from the winner and the runner-up.
Federer’s tears began almost before he fell to the court in triumph, tears of joy and relief as he won his seventh career title at Wimbledon, the 17th major of his career, the first in 2 1/2 years.
The seventh title ties him with his idol Pete Sampras. And this time, Federer’s twin daughters Myla and Charlene were on hand for the triumph.
Photos: Stefan Wermuth/Reuters, Paul Gilham/Pool/Reuters
BALL! Andy Murray becomes the first British male tennis player to make the Wimbledon final in 74 years. He is happy about it, as you can tell.
Jump for joy: While watching Serena Williams come from behind at Wimbledon, older sister Venus sat in the front row stifling a yawn.
Nothing to worry about.
Venus was correct – barely. Serena hit a Wimbledon-record 23 aces, held every service game and narrowly escaped an upset bid by Zheng Jie, winning 6-7 (5), 6-2, 9-7 in the third round Saturday.
Photo: REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth
It’s a bird! It’s a plane! Oh wait, it’s just Andy Murray. The No. 4 seed hits a return to Ivo Karlovic of Croatia during their men’s singles tennis match at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London.
With the Prince of Wales visiting Wimbledon for the first time since 1970, Federer was at his best Wednesday and beat Fognini 6-1, 6-3, 6-2.
Six-time champion Federer won 37 of 41 points on his first serve, and won 21 of 23 points at the net against Fognini, an Italian ranked 68th.
Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall sat in the first row of the Royal Box as Federer walked onto Centre Court for the day’s first match. Federer and Fognini stood side by side as they bowed awkwardly toward the royals, and Charles responded with a wave and grin.
“They do brief you beforehand,” Federer said. “I guess you don’t do anything stupid. You behave. Obviously we were asked to bow, which is obviously no problem to do. We’re thrilled for the tennis family that they came to watch Wimbledon today.”
2011 in Sport: The rise of Djokovic
The Shot was more a result of destiny than luck. Much as 2010 had been about crowning Rafael Nadal the new King of Tennis, 2011 represented the Rise of the Joker.
Novak Djokovic, who was often thought of as the third wheel, went 6-0 against Nadal (all their matches came in tournament finals) and 4-1 against Roger Federer. But what silenced any critic who dared to suggest that Djokovic was not mentally or physically strong enough to be the world No. 1, was his endurance. For four straight months, he was unbeatable.
Photo: Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images
Related: 2011 in Sport: Three more tennis moments to remember
2011 in Sport: The best tennis photos of the year
Read more from our 2011 in Sport series
