Top-seeded world number-one tennis player Roger Federer of Switzerland has defeated American Andy Roddick to claim his third straight Wimbledon championship at the All-England Club near London.
The 23-year-old Federer played nearly flawless tennis Sunday, as he overpowered the second-seeded Roddick 6-2, 7-6, 6-4. With the win, Federer joins seven-time champion Pete Sampras of the United States and five-time titlist Bjorn Borg of Sweden as the only men since 1936 to win three consecutive Wimbledon crowns.
Federer says he thought he played well, but was having trouble adjusting to the idea of winning his third straight title at the All-England Club.
"Today it seemed like I was playing flawless, you know," Mr. Federer says. "Everything was working and in a way I think this one should take me longer to realize. It is like I am not living this correctly. This is a very strange feeling I have."
Federer has won 36 consecutive matches on grass. It was his 21st consecutive victory in a tournament final and improved his record to 5-0 in Grand Slam title matches. Federer now leads Roddick 9-1 in their face-to-face matchups. It was also the third straight year the Swiss star has beaten the 22-year-old Roddick on the way to the title. Roddick says he does not know what else he could have done to beat Federer.
"He is probably as close as there has been to unbeatable," Mr. Roddick says. "You know I feel like I actually played decent and the stats are decent and I got straight-setted. So I don't know."
On Saturday, American Venus Williams won her third women's Wimbledon championship as she rallied to upset world number-one and top-seeded countrywoman Lindsay Davenport, 4-6, 7-6, 9-7. It was the longest women's final in Wimbledon history (two hours and 45 minutes).