Federer finds fifth gear to catch Borg

WIMBLEDON, ENGLAND —  The world got an unprecedented peek at Roger Federer’s guts Sunday, and it turns out they’re considerable.

Hidden these last five kingly years by his celestial shots and his spiteful serves and his durable cool, they had never received a summons to contribute.

Never had Federer strayed into the fifth set of any Grand Slam final, let alone against a mobile blast furnace like Rafael Nadal. Never had he faced two bloodcurdling 15-40 games within that fifth set. Never had Bjorn Borg not so much sat as loomed in the front row of the Royal Box.

Never had Federer tried to win a fifth straight Wimbledon with, as he said, “Bjorn Borg sitting there, Jimmy Connors sitting there, John McEnroe sitting there, Boris Becker sitting there.”

So by the time Federer almost cried walking out to receive serve while leading, 5-2, in the fifth set on Sunday, and by the time he did cry after his overhead into open space confirmed conquest of a surpassing Wimbledon final, a fresh reality came clear.

His innards had demanded their turn at stardom, and an extra helping of his humanity had surfaced for Federer’s equaling of Borg’s open era-record five straight titles from 1976-80, for his equaling of Borg’s 11 Grand Slam titles to pull up only three shy of Pete Sampras, and for his stirring win over Nadal by 7-6 (7), 4-6, 7-6 (3), 2-6, 6-2.

Fifteen-40 at 1-1 in the fifth set, and 15-40 at 2-2 ... “It was a tough moment to be in,” Federer said. “I was nervous. I was thinking I’m probably, maybe going to get out of the first one. When the second one comes around, you’re like, ‘Oh, my God, let’s do it all over again.’ I don’t know if I can do it.”

Federer did it, in five not-so-easy steps.

One: Nadal shoved a backhand return long. Two: They whacked three shots each, and Nadal’s ambitious forehand hurried rightward but veered wide.

Three: A second serve curled toward Nadal’s body, and his truncated backhand lifted the return long. Four: A crushing 127-mph serve up the middle wrung a helpless ground ball from Nadal.

Five: relief, elation, the awareness by Federer that Nadal “probably missed his chance” to break, and the knowledge that “if I’ll get one, I’ll probably make it.”

After a 14-shot rally in the ensuing sixth game wowed Centre Court, after balls screamed over the net by the skin of their fuzz, and after Federer pulled an insane forehand from his backhand side up the line and past Nadal for 4-2, only formalities remained.

“Yeah, was tough for me, no?” Nadal said. “Because I have two 15-40s in the fifth.”

The whole five-year scorch from a first-round win over Lee Hyung-taik of South Korea in 2003 ... through a final against Mark Philippoussis ... a final against Andy Roddick ... Roddick again ... Nadal in four sets in 2006 ... and now Nadal as a ferocious near-equal ... the whole heady trail had finally found its hilt.

On his second match point, Federer walked back for a towel. He wiped his face. He did that little tic where he redirects a fractious strand of hair back across his forehead from left to right. He crouched into position, twirling his racket with his right hand, per custom.

He nailed a backhand return crosscourt, blasted a forehand into Nadal’s backhand corner, and waited for the lunging answer from the Spanish bastion of try. When it came pretty softly, Federer slapped it home and crumpled onto his back.

At the net he told Nadal, 21, that he’d been just as deserving. He told the crowd, “I’m happy with every one I get now before he takes them all.” He thanked Borg for coming, and later inside the Centre Court lobby shared with Borg “a Swedish hug” -- Federer’s phrase -- as fans squealed outside.

“I don’t mind,” Borg had said. “It couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.”

Much as Borg had coped narrowly with a gaining McEnroe in the peerless final of 1980, Federer had eked out a win from a hairy situation against a big-haired rival.

Federer, 25, has held No. 1 for 179 weeks, Nadal No. 2 for 102. Federer has reigned on grass and hard courts, Nadal on clay with the last three French Open titles. But Nadal has scared Federer more on grass than Federer has scared Nadal on clay, and peril rushed in quickly on Sunday.

A first-set tiebreaker saw Nadal repel four set points before Federer prevailed, 9-7. The fourth set saw Federer sag and fret and slip behind, 4-0, and moan to the chair umpire about the reliability of the Hawk-Eye line call-challenging system.

A whole string of junctures saw Nadal appear title-bound with his liquid movement and his crushing shots, such that Federer said, “I think he deserves a title here.” Federer’s serve rescued him, his 24 aces to Nadal’s one, his 58 unreturned serves to Nadal’s 33.

Then, like the placid Swede Borg 27 years ago, the placid Swiss Federer walked out for a fifth set seeking a fifth title. He did not feel utterly depressed like Borg, who’d just lost the epic 18-16 fourth-set tiebreaker to McEnroe. He did feel burden.

“You fought your heart out, you know, the whole way,” Federer said. “So in the end you want to come through as the winner because otherwise it’s so disappointing because you came so close, you know. So the record was on the line and everything just adds up and even puts more pressure on you....

“I knew that it was a big occasion, maybe the biggest occasion of my life so far on a big stage.”

Contrast that walk, then, with another walk out before an audience. An hour-and-change after the match, Federer walked out onto a Wimbledon footbridge that overlooks a teeming walkway. In that dapper white warmup suit, as a five-time Wimbledon champion, Federer stopped on the bridge with a bag of tennis balls and tossed them one by one down to delighted fans. From the top, he grinned constantly and smiled so hugely that you could almost see his guts.

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Major league

All-time men’s Grand Slam titles:

*--* Aus Frn Wim U.S. Total Pete Sampras 2 -- 7 5 14 Roy Emerson 6 2 2 2 12 Bjorn Borg -- 6 5 -- 11 Roger Federer 3 -- 5 3 11 Rod Laver 3 2 4 2 11 Bill Tilden -- -- 3 7 10 Andre Agassi 4 1 1 2 8 Jimmy Connors 1 -- 2 5 8 Ivan Lendl 2 3 -- 3 8 Fred Perry 1 1 3 3 8 Ken Rosewall 4 2 -- 2 8

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