TENNIS in DEPTH.

Roger Federer became tennis’s greatest champion, watched by a legion of champions, as he beat Andy Roddick 5-7 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (7-5) 3-6 16-14 in four hours and 16 minutes to claim his sixth Wimbledon crown. It was also a record 15th Grand Slam title for the Swiss master, overhauling the total of Pete Sampras who was in the Royal Box along with fellow legends Bjorn Borg and Rod Laver.

It was a truly momentous climax to the 2009 Championships as the 27-year-old Swiss became the most successful man in the sport. Sampras, previous holder of that title, had been an unannounced surprise visitor to Wimbledon – where he has not been seen since winning his seventh title back in 2000.

In terms of match time, it was not quite as long as last year’s battle between Federer and Rafael Nadal, but it soon took on similarly epic proportions. And for much of the match, it seemed that Roddick would emulate Nadal’s feat as he hammered away at his opponent. Federer wavered a few times, but never toppled and in the end won on merit. He returns to number one in the world, too, by way of yet another win bonus.

That this was going to be a contest between two big blasters was evident from the opening game, when Roddick slammed down two aces and in the next Federer replied with a couple of his own. That Federer had won 18 of their previous 20 matches was not a consideration on this day. For a start, Roddick, white cap pulled low over his eyes, was clearly a fitter and slimmer version of the man who had already lost to Federer in two Wimbledon finals, and he matched Federer stride for stride, shot for shot, ace for ace as they hurtled through the opening set, completing 10 games in just 25 minutes.

Then came the first sign of a falter. It was from Roddick, who fell 0-30 behind on serve, and Federer upped his level in pursuit of a break of serve which would have left him to serve for the set. He could not have tried harder, or played better. Four times he stood at break point, and on each occasion Roddick battled back to fend off the threat and was finally off the hook, courtesy of a pair of Federer forehand errors.

Perhaps it was the inspiration of surviving such a crisis, but Roddick bounced back brilliantly and when Federer offered him a glimpse of success with a faulty cross-court backhand to go break point down, the American struck. A brilliant forehand down the line forced Federer to project a forehand wide and it was Roddick who went a set in front after 39 minutes.

This was precisely the start Roddick needed to prove that he was a changed man from the opponent so frequently dominated by Federer in the past. Impressively aggressive and quick to close in on the net whenever the chance arose, he continued to stretch Federer in the second set with scorching serves of speeds beyond 135mph and a steadiness which was producing 80% of first serves on target.

Federer’s discomfort at being so brashly challenged on a court he has come to regard as his own was beginning to show as the second set moved into a tiebreak. As the Centre Court audience roared in disbelief, two errors by the Swiss left Roddick with four points for a two-set lead. Now was the time for Federer to unveil the genius that had stood him such good stead in previous Wimbledon finals – and he responded in brilliant fashion, winning the next six points in a row as, for the first time, Roddick’s nerves betrayed him.

Two volleying errors on his own serve let Roddick down before, on Federer’s first set point, the American drove a forehand over the baseline and it was level pegging again after one hour 23 minutes.

In that second set Federer had conceded only five points on serve, with Roddick not far behind with seven.

The third set followed the course of the second, with both men holding serve comfortably, except when Roddick escaped from break point down in the sixth game. Though the American’s first serve began to shed some of its potency, the two men moved into another tiebreak. And this time it was Federer who not only moved into the driver’s seat with a mini-break on the third point but cemented that advantage, growling “C’mon” as he went ahead by six points to three, holding three set points.

Would Roddick stage a similar fightback to Federer’s in the previous set? He certainly gave it a go, rescuing two set points on his own serve before Federer struck, following a potent serve with a forehand put-away to move in front by two sets to one with the match two hours 11 minutes old.

Roddick’s indomitable attitude had its reward in the fourth set. He conjured two break points in the fourth game and though Federer saved one with his 24th ace, the American trapped the Swiss as he closed in on the net on the next point.

Steadily and impressively, Roddick built on the break, with the only scare coming when, at 5-2., he fell heavily. There were fears of a similar ankle injury to the one which had caused his withdrawal from the pre-Wimbledon event at Queen’s Club, but this was not the occasion for something like that. He shook himself down, carried on, and held serve in the next game with that trusty weapon, a service winner. All square again after two hours 43 minutes.

So to the deciding set, with Federer threatening to strike early as he reached break point for the sixth time in the match, only to be frustrated again as the American pumped down his 20th ace at 138mph. With no tiebreak in the fifth set, this one had to be played out. And so it was, amid mounting excitement and with Federer beginning to show the first signs of uncertainty.

This reached a climax as Federer faced two break points at 8-8, only to serve his way out of trouble and as the games ascended into double figures for each man the set became the longest fifth set in Wimbledon’s history.

Federer’s ace count passed the 50 mark and then, finally, it was Roddick who cracked in the 30th game of the set. Three mishits off the frame indicated he was fatigued and when Federer was offered the first Championship point he grabbed it eagerly, leaping into the air with joy as another Roddick mishit sailed long.

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The result came too late on Friday evening for the London Stock Exchange to be affected or for sterling to slump in value, but Britain is now officially in a state of deflation – after Andy Murray’s Wimbledon’s hopes were ended at the semi-final stage by Andy Roddick.

The American’s 6-4 4-6 7-6 (9-7) 7-6 (7-5) win was fully deserved, as he cashed in on his 21 aces and a multitude of other damaging serves which eventually eroded Murray’s confidence and undermined his resistance.

As the last of Murray’s 20 unforced errors rattled into the netting, Roddick knelt on court, the peak of his white cap touching the turf. He stayed this way for several seconds before getting to his feet and applauding the crowd’s sporting acceptance of what he had just inflicted on them – and on a watching TV audience, whether at home, on Henman Hill or on No.2 Court, which had thrown open its doors for fans to watch on giant screens.

All of them were of course hoping that “our Andy” could win the first of two matches which would deliver the first British Wimbledon men’s singles champion since Fred Perry 73 years ago.

As a veteran American tennis writer quipped after Roddick’s first tiebreak success put him in front by two sets to one, “It’s gonna be 74 years now.”

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Andy Murray’s Wimbledon dream was shattered as he lost in four sets to Andy Roddick in the semi-finals.

The British number one and tournament third seed was beaten 6-4 4-6 7-6 (9/7) 7-6 (7/5) by the big-serving American.

Roddick goes on to face Roger Federer in Sunday’s final.

Murray said: “You always expect your opponents to play well at this stage of the tournament.

“I had a few chances in the first tie-break and chances early in the third set and I didn’t take them.

“I thought I played well.

“He served really, really well.

“Hitting at that pace at such a high percentage, sometimes there’s not a whole lot you can do.”

Murray says he has learnt a tough lesson: that his opponents at Grand Slams can lift their game. He says he is mentally much tougher but there is still room for improvement. He will take a five week break until the next tournament, prepare for the hard-court season, look ahead to his favourite major – the US Open – and, most importantly, be back here next year with a chance of ending Britain’s long wait for Wimbledon glory.

“I think I have a chance. And I think the way that I played this year, it was very, very close to getting [me] to the final. I believe I can win a Grand Slam. Whether it’s Wimbledon or the US Open or Australia or whatever, I’m going to give myself chances.”

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Michael Stich might have been on to something when he said that female tennis players are “just there to sell sex.” Sunday evening, the All England Club admitted that physical attractiveness is taken into consideration when deciding which women will play on Wimbledon’s Centre Court.

Spokesman Johnny Perkins said, “Good looks are a factor,” adding, “It’s not a coincidence that those (on Centre Court) are attractive.”

Many of tennis’ top female seeds have been relegated to lesser courts, while a string of easy-on-the-eyes unknowns have been appearing on Wimbledon’s prime time court. On Friday, for example, second seed Serena Williams’ match against Italy’s Roberta Vinci was held on the new No. 2 court, while 8th seed Victoria Azarenka of Belarus went up against Romania’s Sorana Cirstea (28th seed) on Centre Court. In this case, it’s obvious that looks, rather than actual talent played a role in their placement.

The sparse crowds for the Azarenka vs. Cirstea match, however, are telling. It’s pretty clear that the crowds attending the matches are far more knowledgable about the sport and it’s players than are the BBC television audiences that they’re designing the match-ups for.

‘It’s the Wimbledon play committee, not us who decides on the order of play. But obviously it’s advantageous to us if there are good-looking women players on Centre Court.

No one has heard of many of the women now, so if they are pretty it definitely gives them an edge. Our preference would always be a Brit or a babe as this always delivers high viewing figures.”

Further evidence that the good looking players are being promoted to Centre Court over more talented, yet not as good looking players are demoted to the outer courts is evidenced. Centre Court featured on Wednesday the so called “Battle of the Babes”, with unseeded Gisela Dulko (world rank 45) up against unseeded Maria Sharapova (world rank 60). And then on Thursday it was 9th seed Caroline Wozniacki against Maria Kirilenko (world rank 59) on Centre Court, while number one seed Dinara Safina was downgraded to an outer court.

Not everyone is pleased with the way the schedule is being done. Safina, 23, said “I mean of course it’s not fair, but then I’m not doing the schedule.”

French Open champ Svetlana Kuznetsova, 24, is also upset by the scheduling, She commented:

‘It’s weird. If you look at the schedule, it’s not only about me.

‘It’s about Dinara on Court No 2, Venus (Williams) on Court No 1 and the girls who are not very highly seeded they play on Centre.

‘I respect them. They’re great players for sure. But this is what’s weird for me; what’s their strategy, what’s their plan of making the schedule?

‘This is what surprises me a little bit.’

Serena Williams, who is used to being the center of attention and one of the sport’s top players, even got lost on her way to finding the No. 2 court Friday. She was 10 minutes late for her match.

This would never happen with the men, where the top players – no matter how good looking or ugly they are – will always play on Centre Court.

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If you belive in numbers and stats, then Murray has the edge over Federer, and next Sunday he should be crowned as the new ‘King’ of Wimbledon.

Going into the second week he has by far the easiest draw with matches against Wawrinka, probably Simon and then most likely Roddick. While Federer has to overcome a series of big servers that include Soderling, and either Karlovic of Verdasco before he faces Djokovic.

But this is Wimbledon, and Federer rises to play his best here. But will his best be good enough to stand down the challenge of Andy Murray? Will Murray’s nerves let him down? Will he finally cave in on the biggest day of his career in front of a Nation that will be watching his every move? In 2008 when Federer defended his title, and seemed to be invincible on grass, we were all shocked by his loss to Rafael Nadal. Since then he has not played like the ‘old’ Roger Federer. Sure he beat Nadal in Madrid on clay, but the win was clouded by Nadal’s injury problems, and he won the French Open against the #23 player after struggling in the earlier rounds.

If both players bring their ‘Super A’ games, then Federer must be given the edge over Murray. After all it is on grass, and it is a Grand Slam, but Federer has Not brought his ‘SuperA’ game to any tournament since the 2008 final.

So toss a coin or put a few quid on your favourite, and hope that they can entertain us all with a match to rival last year’s final.

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Monday June 29

(All times BST)

Centre: 13:00 (13) Robin Soderling (Swe) v (2) Roger Federer (Swi), (1) Dinara Safina (Rus) v (17) Amelie Mauresmo (Fra), (3) Andy Murray (Gbr) v (19) Stanislas Wawrinka (Swi)

Court No 1: 13:00 (3) Venus Williams (USA) v (13) Ana Ivanovic (Ser), (7) Fernando Verdasco (Spa) v (22) Ivo Karlovic (Cro), (20) Tomas Berdych (Cze) v (6) Andy Roddick (USA)

Court 2: 12:00 Elena Vesnina (Rus) v (4) Elena Dementieva (Rus), Daniela Hantuchova (Svk) v (2) Serena Williams (USA), Lleyton Hewitt (Aus) v (23) Radek Stepanek (Cze)

Court 3: 12:00 (8) Victoria Azarenka (Blr) v (10) Nadia Petrova (Rus), Dudi Sela (Isr) v (4) Novak Djokovic (Ser), Juan Carlos Ferrero (Spa) v (8) Gilles Simon (Fra)

Court 4: 12:00: (29) Igor Andreev (Rus) v (24) Tommy Haas (Ger), (9) Caroline Wozniacki (Den) v Sabine Lisicki (Ger),

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