“Pick & Choose”: Novak Djokovic Explains Why He Won Despite Roger Federer Being the Better Player in Wimbledon 2019 Final

In an interview on the American television program, 60 Minutes, Novak Djokovic talked about his epic 2019 Wimbledon final against Roger Federer. He shed light on how he won despite the Swiss being the better player in almost all metrics. The Serb said it was all about ‘peaking’ in the correct moments.

Federer and Djokovic battled for nearly five hours in the summit clash of the 2019 Wimbledon Championships. The latter emerged victorious after five long sets despite the former having better statistics. He saved multiple championship points to win 7–6(5), 1–6, 7–6(4), 4–6, 13-12 (3) and defend his title. The fixture is regarded as one of the best matches of all time.

Djokovic discussed this incredible tie in the latest 60 Minutes episode (via The Tennis Letter). He mentioned how all the sets he won were won in tiebreaks, whereas Federer bagged two sets comprehensively. He pointed out his opponent was the better player on paper, as per the statistics, but lost. Djokovic said this proves victory can be achieved if a player wisely chooses the right moments to play his best tennis.

“I beat him 13-12 in the 5th set. The sets that I won were all won in tiebreaks. Overall, if you see the stats, he was the far better player in every aspect, but I won the match. So that actually tells you can still win if you pick and choose which moments of the match you’re peaking and playing your best when it matters.”

The 2019 Wimbledon Championships was Djokovic’s 16th Grand Slam title. It also proved to be Federer’s last Majors final, his 31st. The legendary clash was a fitting final chapter of his glorious career in Grand Slam events. He played only four more Slam tournaments before retiring.

The iconic 2019 Wimbledon final between Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic entered the 2019 Wimbledon Championships as the defending champion and the first seed. Federer, meanwhile, was seeded second. The Serb dropped only two sets en route to the final, not facing a single player seeded in the top 20. On the other hand, the Swiss icon had to deal with Matteo Berrettini, Kei Nishikori, and Rafael Nadal on his path to the summit match.

In an iconic final that see-sawed for four hours and 57 minutes, Djokovic came out on top to lift his fifth Wimbledon title. The triumph must have tasted sweeter after the gruelling tie. Djokovic won the first set but Federer inflicted a bagel to level the contest. With momentum and the crowd on his side, the eight-time Wimbledon champion looked like he would secure the third set as well. Djokovic seemed listless but soon found his groove in the tiebreaker to secure a 2-1 lead.

The fourth set felt like an action replay of the second. Despite winning the third, Djokovic seemed at sea. Federer fought on to snatch the set and restore balance at 2-2. Under the new rules, the decider would go into a tiebreak at 12 games each. The momentum switched hands rapidly in the fifth set, with both players visibly exhausted. Federer even had two championship points on his serve at 8-7 but squandered it. Ultimately, the set went into a late tiebreak where Djokovic converted one of three match points to wrap up the iconic match.

Despite Djokovic’s triumph, Federer had the better statistics. He smashed 25 aces and converted seven breakpoints from 13, a big lead over his rival’s 10 aces and three breakpoints. He also won more points (218) and games (36) than Djokovic (204 and 32), in addition to hitting 94 winners to the Serb’s 54. The only major metric where Djokovic did better was having fewer unforced errors, 52 to Federer’s 62. As he mentioned, he peaked at vital moments to walk away with the title.