Review of the final day

Roddick and Federer with trophies Roger Federer made tennis history on the final day of 2009 The Championships. The Wimbledon men's final is always an historical occasion but, if it is possible, this was more historic than others. As Ron Atkins wrote: "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 2002." Pity poor Andy Roddick, a man who was playing in his first Grand Slam final since 2006. As Kate Battersby said: "All match Federer had tried and failed to break Roddick. Not until the final stroke of an epic final set would he manage what had previously been impossible. It was the second longest final of all time, by far the longest in games played. "The two of them were in the 30th game of the set when at last successive loose shots from Roddick gave Federer what no other player has ever achieved, a 15th Grand Slam. The American, beyond exhausted, was too worn out to weep. But the tears will no doubt come and, one fears, the nightmares after that. Elite sport is played out in an arena as wonderful as it is cruel, and only the bravest need apply." There were other winners and losers on the final day of The Championships. Tom Hyde noted the similarities between the girls’ champion Noppawan Lertcheewakarn and the ladies winner Serena Williams. "Noppawan Lertcheewakarn proved that whatever Serena can do, she can do too after adding the girls; doubles title to the singles title she collected yesterday to complete a memorable Championships," he said. "The Thai girl and Australian partner Sally Peers raced to a comfortable 6-1, 6-1 victory over Silvia Njiric and Kristina Mladenovic, who tasted a final defeat to Lertcheewakarn for the second time in two days, in just 47 minutes." The boy's singles trophy is heading east once again after unseeded Andrey Kuznetsov of Russia beat Jordan Cox to win the title a year on from Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov's triumph. Kuznetsov remained composed to overturn a one-set deficit against the American qualifier and run out a 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 winner. France's Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Germany’s Kevin Krawietz became the 2009 Junior Boys' Doubles Champions after winning a close encounter against the all-French pairing of Julien Obry and Adrien Puget 6-7 (3-7), 6-2, 12-10. Martina Navratilova and Helena Sukova beat Ilana Kloss and Rosalyn Nideffer in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2, in an enthralling and entertaining final of the Ladies’ Invitation Doubles competition. In the Men's Invitation Doubles, Jacco Eltingh and Paul Haarhuis from the Netherlands beat American pairing Donald Johnson and Jared Palmer 7-6 (7-2), 6-4. In the Senior Men’s Invitation Doubles, Britain’s Jeremy Bates and Anders Jarryd, from Sweden, were also victorious 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) over Mansour Bahrami and Henri Leconte. In a demandingly long final, top seeds Stephane Houdet and Michael Jeremiasz of France were up against number three seeds Robin Ammerlaan of the Netherlands and Shingo Kunieda of Japan in the final of the wheelchair doubles. It was the Frenchmen who held aloft the silver salvers, winning 1-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-3). Top seeds Esther Vergeer and Korie Homan of the Netherlands made Wimbledon history by winning the inaugural ladies wheelchair doubles title.