On the last day of play at The Championships, Roger Federer will vie to become the winningest man of all-time at the All England Club. With a victory on Sunday, he will surpass Pete Sampras and William Renshaw as the holder of the most gentlemen’s singles titles. It would be the most major titles won at the same event by anyone except for fellow all-time great Rafael Nadal, who along with Federer has dominated the 2017 season and just won his 10th French Open title five weeks ago.
This is also Federer’s bid for a record-extending 19th major title, which would again put him four major titles ahead of Nadal. For Marin Cilic, Sunday marks only his second appearance in a major final. On his way to winning the 2014 U.S. Open, he defeated Roger in the semifinals in straight sets. Much like Garbine Muguruza on Saturday, Cilic will look to build a Hall of Fame resume by winning his second major title, and do so by spoiling the party for one of the best and most popular players ever. While the other members of the “big four” are out of the way, Cilic is a dangerous opponent for Federer with history on the line.
Roger Federer vs. Marin Cilic
Federer arrives at his record-breaking eleventh gentlemen’s final, the most finals any man has reached at one major event, having not dropped a set. In fact he’s now won 26 straight completed sets on the grass, dating back to his tournament win in Halle a few weeks ago. Cilic will also walk onto Centre Court with a lot of confidence: he is 12-2 on grass this year, with his only losses coming in final set tiebreaks. While Cilic has played impressively throughout the fortnight, he has spent almost 50% more time on court than Roger.
This is a rematch from last year’s Wimbledon quarterfinals, a match of the year candidate in which Cilic held match points but lost in five sets to the delightful roar of the Centre Court crowd. Marin’s victory over Roger at the 2014 U.S. Open is the only time Cilic has ever defeated Federer in seven previous meetings. Federer is a career 18-10 in major finals, and specifically 7-3 at Wimbledon. Roger has only once lost a major final to a man not named Nadal or Djokovic, and that was to Juan Martin Del Potro at the 2009 U.S. Open.
Cilic plays a similar style to how Del Potro played when at his best, with big, penetrating groundstrokes off both sides. While Federer is considered a heavy favorite, it would not surprise me at all if Cilic prevails on Sunday. The vast majority of the audience, both at SW19 and all around the world, will be staunchly pulling for Federer. The Centre Court crowd helped Federer mount a comeback from two sets down in last year’s quarterfinal against Cilic. Marin will need to avoid letting an emotional crowd distract him from the task at hand: defeating arguably the best and most popular tennis player of all-time.
Much like Venus Williams in the ladies’ championship, the almost 36-year-old Federer will know this may be his last good shot at a Wimbledon title. As the players proceed to the court on Sunday, they will walk under the words inscribed by the entrance to Centre Court which say “If you can meet with triumph and disaster and treat those two imposters just the same.” The victor in the gentlemen’s championship will be the man who more successfully does just that.
