By Chris Oddo | Tuesday July 4, 2017
It was short, and ultimately a disappointment for fans, but Wimbledon will remember it fondly as the victory that moved Roger Federer beyond the competition yet again.
More: Djokovic Wins by Retirement
This time the Swiss maestro defeated a legend of the past, as he moved into sole possession of Wimbledon’s all time win list for men with his 85th win, as well as Alexandr Dolgopolov, who retired with an injury while trailing Federer 6-3, 3-0.
The match was never in doubt after Federer broke in the first game beneath sunny skies on Centre Court, but the lithe, athletic Ukrainian did show some good tennis in spurts.
Not nearly enough, however, and by the time the first set had ended it was clear that he might not make the finish line.
He didn’t.
Federer struck ten aces and did not face a break point in the 43-minute encounter, but it ended in muted celebration tinged with disappointment from an anxious crowd that had to be feeling that it was déjà vu all over again.
Two hours earlier, Martin Klizan had pulled the plug on his contest with No.2-seeded Novak Djokovic. The crowd was nonplussed, but seemed to hold out hope that seeing Federer do battle with Dolgopolov would lift their spirits.
Afterwards Federer joked about the possibility of playing a practice set with Djokovic on Centre Court to appease the fans on a day that saw two of the three scheduled matches on the legendary court end in second-set retirements.
Caroline Wozniacki and Timea Babos later were moved onto Centre Court, with the Dane going the distance to win in three sets.
“I felt like there was a bit of a letdown from the crowd,” Federer told a packed room of reporters after the match.
Many had come to question Federer about how he felt the Grand Slams should handle the problem of players going out and playing while injured, just to bring home the lucrative paycheck that these tournaments offer.
First-round losers earn £ 35,000, but many who become irate about retirements fail to recognize that players put all their energy into qualifying for the Grand Slams. The economy of the sport is such that the money is too much for them to pass up.
“They couldn't believe that it happened again, exactly the same situation,” Federer said of the Centre Court reaction. “[A player calling] the trainer after the set, pulled out at 3-Love, the same thing. When I walked up, the chairman said, ‘You guys should go and play for another set and a half.’ I said, ‘Yeah, let me go try to find Novak.’ I found him in the locker room. I told him, ‘Maybe we should go out and play another set.’”
Federer quickly added: “It's not going to happen.”
Federer’s 85th win came with another milestone; he cracked his 10,000th ace, becoming the third player in history to reach that level of serving prowess.
Federer moves on to face Serbia’s Dusan Lajovic in the third round. Playing in his fourth Wimbledon, Lajovic owns a 2-3 lifetime record at the championships. He is currently ranked No.79 in the world and has never met Federer.