Roger Federer won his record eighth Wimbledon gentlemen’s singles title on 16 July 2017, defeating Marin Cilic 6–3, 6–1, 6–4 on Centre Court. He did not drop a set throughout the entire tournament.
A final decided in two quick bursts
Federer seized the opening set by winning 11 of 13 points to break for 4–2. Cilic’s first serve wavered, and a second double fault handed Federer the set in 37 minutes.
The match swung decisively early in the second. Cilic called the trainer for a painful blister on his left foot after losing five straight games. Sitting courtside, he broke down in tears as the crowd rallied behind the Swiss.
A clean finish, an ace to close
Federer kept his focus through the delay. He raced to 5–1 and fired his third ace in a love hold to pocket the second set.
Cilic, his feet freshly taped, fought harder in the third. Still, Federer broke for 4–3 when a forehand found the net and then served out the championship with an ace, leaving the tall Croatian no way back.
History rewritten on the grass
The victory broke a tie with Pete Sampras and William Renshaw and made Federer the oldest Wimbledon men’s champion of the modern era. He became only the second man after Björn Borg to win the title without ceding a set.
It was his 19th Grand Slam singles title, arriving five years after his last All England Club triumph and six months after a knee injury layoff. The number added another story to a career already lined with benchmarks.
“I always believed that I could maybe come back and do it again,” Federer told reporters. “And if you believe, you can go really, really far in your life, and I did that.”
A champion who had already redefined the game stood on the grass once more, still finding lines nobody else had reached.
