Mike Celizic

Roger Federer would have preferred it to be quick and easy and as lacking in drama as a public service message. Every other match he had played during the fortnight had been that way — no sweat, no angst, no challenge to what had seemed a predestined parade to the all-time pinnacle of his profession.

And when yet another epic Wimbledon men’s final was over, Federer told the crowd about his wishes, and how sorry he was he had ended it before the 30th game of the fifth set. It wasn’t because he wanted a short work day, but because he knew how much it hurt his opponent, Andy Roddick, to lose such a match.

It was the greatest moment of a great afternoon, the all-time greatest champion in his sport admitting that his own elation at winning his record fifteenth major was tempered by Roddick’s excruciating anguish.

Such is the stuff of a true champion.

Federer knows from anguish. Just last year, he was the one feeling the pain when he lost an even better final to Spain’s Rafael Nadal. That match had gone into tennis legend as perhaps the greatest final ever played at the game’s most hallowed shrine. But a year later, that is still no comfort to Federer. And as close as he came to winning last year is as close as Roddick came this year — within an eyelash.

For a tennis fan, it was nothing short of heaven, not just because Federer passed Pete Sampras’ 14 grand slam titles but also because of how Roddick rose to a big moment for the first time since the 2003 U.S. Open, when he won the only grand slam of what had become a disappointing career.

Roddick was playing with new verve and determination this week, but no one expected him to push Federer to the wall on the grass of Wimbledon, where Federer already had five titles and was playing in his seventh straight final. But Roddick has a history of coming up short, especially against Federer, who had beaten him in 18 of their previous 20 meetings.

It is hard to appreciate just how difficult it is in tennis to beat somebody who has had your number for years. The inability to beat a foe eats at your psyche, and no matter how tightly you tie down your doubts, they break free at the most critical moments.

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It seemed to happen in the second-set tiebreaker. Roddick had won the first set and now he held four set points in that tiebreaker. He lost all four of them, three straight on the sort of ugly mis-hits you see in beginning tennis classes. When he did, you just knew what everybody watching was thinking: choke.

When Federer won the third set in another tiebreaker, you figured that was it. Old unreliable Andy Roddick had shot his little cannon, and now he was going to get steamrollered into the dirt and grass of centre court.

But it’s a different Roddick who showed up at the All-England Club this year. He’s got a new coach, Larry Stefanki, and he’s in better shape than he’s ever been. His booming serve is backed by rock-solid ground strokes and a newly fortified backhand that produced a string of winners.

Federer served an incredible 50 aces on the day, but Roddick did something even more amazing: He won every single service game until the final game of the match. Rarely did Federer get even a break point opportunity, so dominant was Roddick.

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The American said afterwards he still wants his name on the wall of champions at Wimbledon. Federer said he thinks it will be up there. Maybe it will — if Federer’s not there to stand in his way.

There was a lot of talk afterwards about whether Federer’s record 15 grand slams means he is the greatest champion ever. It’s a question that will never be answered. Rod Laver, who played 40 years ago, is the only man to win the Grand Slam — all four majors in one calendar year — twice and won a total of 11 majors. But he began his career in an era when tennis was an amateur sport, and he left for the five best years of his prime to play professionally. He surely would have won four or six or eight more majors in those five years.

But if Laver would have won more had he been able to, no one knows how many Pancho Gonzalez, another early pro and by many accounts the true best player ever, would have won.

Laver was magnanimous enough to give Federer the all-time title because he has the most wins in the tournaments by which we keep score. And we’ll have to do the same.

Tennis, like every sport, is more competitive now than it ever was. Winning is harder than it’s ever been. And Federer has won more majors than anyone.

If there were doubts, they should have been laid to rest Sunday. He was challenged as he rarely has been by a gritty opponent. He ground it out for 30 games in the longest final set in Wimbledon history. He capped an epic career achievement with an epic day of tennis.

It wasn’t quite as great a match as last year against Nadal, who’s out with a bum knee. But it was close enough.

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