Federer Edges Roddick 16-14 in 5th for 15th Major

"I thought, 'I don't want to be rude,' you know?" Federer said.

Andy Roddick of the US returns to Roger Federer of Switzerland, during the men's singles final on the Centre Court at Wimbledon, Sunday, July 5, 2009. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

(AP)

He wept with joy after his first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon in 2003. And he bawled in the locker room after his 40-match winning streak here ended against Nadal in 2008. This time, Federer kept it together, perhaps because he was too exhausted after a match chock-full of contradictions:

— Federer's ace count was one shy of the Wimbledon record and, most remarkably, 23 more than Roddick, who is better-known for his knee-buckling serves.

— Roddick broke serve twice in the first four sets; Federer, considered a superior returner, couldn't come through until the match's concluding game.

— Federer won both tiebreakers; Roddick is the one who began the day 26-4 in those set-capping races to seven points.

Then there was the most counterintuitive piece of all: that Roddick would even stay close, much less be on the verge of victory, given that he came in 2-18 against Federer, including 0-7 at major tournaments.

Roddick made quite clear, quite quickly, that he is a new-and-improved version, delivering four passing winners by the time the match was 13 minutes old — three with his backhand, long his weaker side.

And he broke Federer to close the first set. It happened suddenly: Federer won 21 of the first 24 points on his serve, but Roddick took three out of four in a blink, earning the last point of that set with a backhand down the line that drew a wide forehand from Federer.

The crowd roared, sensing an upset. There were more rumblings when Roddick, the 2003 U.S. Open champion, went up 6-2 in the second-set tiebreaker. Here, then, were four chances to take a 2-0 lead in sets.

Roddick might have been forgiven for thinking, "Wow, I'm one point away from leading Roger Federer two sets to none in the Wimbledon final." He certainly played as though burdened by looking ahead, letting all four set points slip from his grasp. Most discouraging was the last, when he wildly misplayed a backhand volley. It was part of a six-point, set-ending run for Federer.