Lendl: 'Djokovic's win over Roger Federer in last year's Wimbledon final was crucial'

Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic met 50 times, with the balance of 27-23 in favor of the Serbian. This rivalry is classified, in terms of the number of matches played, as the second largest in the Open era after that between the Spaniard Rafael Nadal and Djokovic. It is also the largest in the history of Grand Slam tournaments, with 17 matches played and is considered as one of the most important tennis rivalries of all time.

At the 2019 Wimbledon Championships, the Swiss Maestro faced Nole in the final, against whom he lost in a five set thriller lasting four hours and fifty seven minutes, despite having two championship points on serve in the fifth set. The match also marked the first time a fifth set tiebreaker was played at 12 games all in the men's singles and was the longest men's final in Wimbledon history.

Speaking in an interview with WWOS, former world No 1 Ivan Lendl said Djokovic's win over Federer in last year's Wimbledon final was crucial to the GOAT battle. "Affection of the public should not be in the equation. Who is the most popular is one thing but who is the greatest is not being judged by popularity," Lendl said.

"That's why the Wimbledon finals last year was so fascinating with Roger losing from two match points up because if he moved to 21 and Novak stayed at 16, that's five difference, now it's just three. It's much harder to win five than three. When I watched it I saw both players were extremely nervous and I strongly believe this is why they were so nervous because they both knew if Roger jumped to a five lead it would be very difficult to catch him" - he added.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2Wm3e5y