The seventh
seeded Croatian, the 2014 US Open champion, sobbed inconsolably and buried his
head in his towel as his title dream slipped away.
He then had
his left foot taped at the end of the second set but it was in vain as Federer
became the first player since Bjorn Borg in 1976 to win Wimbledon without
dropping a set in the entire tournament.
Beneath a
star-studded Royal Box where Prince William and wife Kate rubbed shoulders with
actors Hugh Grant and Bradley Cooper, Cilic had his first break point in the
fourth game.
It was saved
by Federer and it was to be Cilic’s only glimmer of hope.
Federer
broke in the next game when his opponent suffered a nasty fall on the worn
surface which was to ultimately undermine his challenge.
Federer then
served up two love service games before claiming the opener 6-3 off a Cilic
double fault, the Croatian’s second of the final.
The Swiss
superstar swept into a 3-0 lead in the second set and at the changeover, Cilic
slumped in his courtside chair in tears and in obvious pain.
The trainer
and doctor were summoned before Cilic hid his head in his towel in a desperate
attempt to compose himself.
The
28-year-old held serve on the resumption but the lethal barrage continued,
Federer stretching his lead over his friend to 4-1.
Cilic
dropped the set 6-1 and called a medical timeout to have his left foot bandaged
and take a painkiller.
His
discomfort was reflected in his statistics.
By the end
of the second set, he had served just two aces compared to the 130 he had fired
past bamboozled opponents in his previous six rounds.
Federer
pounced again with a break for 4-3 and wrapped up the one-sided final with a
second serve ace to complete his coronation after just 1hr 41 minutes.
Fittingly,
he too wept at the end.
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