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LONDON - Roger Federer is used to breaking records but Monday's (NZ time) sensational victory over Rafael Nadal in the Wimbledon singles tennis final clearly meant something extra special.
His five-set triumph over the swashbuckling Spaniard took him alongside Swedish great Bjorn Borg as only the second man in modern times to win the sport's most treasured prize five times in a row.
Borg, who watched Monday's duel from the royal box on Centre Court, did not get beyond five. In 1981, in his sixth consecutive final, he lost to John McEnroe and never returned to the All England Club as a player.
The Swede was in his mid-20s when he walked away from tennis with 11 grand slam titles. Federer, who claimed his 11th by beating Nadal, is still only 25 and shows no sign of boredom at dominating men's game.
How many more grand slams Borg would have won if he had continued will never be known but it is a fair bet that by the time Federer hangs up his racket he will have surpassed the record 14 slams of Pete Sampras.
Then again, Federer would probably swap one of his US or Australian Open titles for one French Open. Not since Borg in 1980 has any man won the French Open then conquered Wimbledon just a few weeks later. Nadal came closest on Monday.
Away from the statistics, it is worth comparing the two players. Federer, who admits to not really having seen many of Borg's great moments, says their styles are completely different.
"The similarity is probably the attitude on court," Federer said.
If anything, the left-handed Nadal is a closer copy of Borg with his heavy topspin groundstrokes.
But that is not to say that Borg and Federer have nothing in common. Firstly, the aura that Borg enjoyed at Wimbledon had, until Federer came along, only been achieved by Pete Sampras.
Like Borg and Sampras, whose seven Wimbledon titles are now in Federer's sights, the Swiss' reputation is enough to make many opponents fold.
Only truly great warriors such as McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, Goran Ivanisevic and now Nadal, have had enough charisma to go toe to toe with the kings of Centre Court.
Another Borg trait that has rubbed off on Federer is his ability to get out of tight spots with unplayable serving and booming forehands.
Borg's serve was a hidden weapon and Federer's, while not the most powerful in the game, has an uncanny knack of hitting the lines when most needed. Twice he was down 15-40 in the fifth set against Nadal and both times his serve came up trumps.
Like Borg, Federer is also a natural athlete, floating across Wimbledon's turf with effortless ease. Similarly, Federer has no fear of the net, but mostly chooses, like Borg, to construct his points from the back of the court.
As much as anything, however, the affection of the Wimbledon crowds is something both will take into their latter years. When they embraced after Monday's final the cheers could be heard all over the grounds.
"We gave each other a Swedish hug," said Federer.
"It was very nice, you know, because I think we like each other very much from far away so to speak. To see him after the match it was very fitting in my point of view. So to see him waiting there was great."
- REUTERS
