Fabulous Federer has future in his hands

Federer and Roddick will meet many more times in the coming decade. For Philippoussis, though, yesterday at Wimbledon was his perfect opportunity. At the age of 26 and with knees that are healthy for now but not going to get any better, the Australian believed the Wimbledon title he had promised himself was there for the taking.

That was until he ran into Federer.

The 21-year-old was irresistible, from the classical, flowing backhand which removed an early threat in the opening game to the whipped cross-court passes which left Philippoussis groping for thin air.

Federer lifted his first Grand Slam trophy two hours after the match began.

But, in truth, the final was over as a contest from the moment Philippoussis foolishly went for too much on a second serve at 4-5 in the first-set tiebreak and delivered a double-fault.

Federer pounced. A heavily spun serve proved too tricky for his unseeded opponent and the set - and battle with his own mind - was won.

What had been a contest of metronomic serve-volley tedium suddenly blossomed into a cornucopia of Federer winners. From all angles, from all parts of Centre Court, the delicious backhand flicks of his wrist sent the ball in more regularly now, as did the lasered forehands.

Meanwhile, the flow of aces and service winners that had caught the outside edge of his racket and given slip-fielding practice to alert spectators dried to a trickle in the second set as Philippoussis felt the heat coming towards him.

Federer had dropped just one set all tournament. The Australian was never likely to be able to reverse that trend, especially as he could not find the court with his first-serve bullets.

The second serves were being pinged back to his feet. A Philippoussis volley was clearly dropping wide and long but Federer still rammed it down the line. The message was clear - the only person who could beat Federer was himself.

He won the second set with a 116mph ace which took chalk from the corner of the service box and he became impatient for the victory which would confirm his step up to greatness.

Philippoussis made him wait and - as you would expect from a man who has endured three knee operations and the heartache of his father Nick's diagnosis and successful fight with cancer - refused to surrender.

At 2-1 in the third set, he finally made it to deuce on the Federer serve and sent down a savage return to test his opponent's mettle. It was not for bending.

Federer held on and then climbed back on to the plateau of brilliance to carve out two break points at 5-5. Vicious serving from Philippoussis took them into another tiebreak yet, unlike in the first set, this one was a comparative stroll.

A mis-hit return off a 130mph serve which fell just inside the baseline confirmed Federer's accession to the throne that has been warmed by Goran Ivanisevic and Lleyton Hewitt in the last two years, but which now appears to be his birthright.

Federer said: 'This is just one of Pete's seven titles. I'm so far away. I'm just happy to be on the board. If I look at all the players who have won here, a lot of them have been idols to me.

'Just to be on the board with Borg and these people is so nice. To be part of history at Wimbledon and Grand Slams in general. It's incredible.'

Incredible for him, maybe. But the rest of us had no trouble believing it.

A Philippoussis return which landed in the net sent Federer to his knees. In the future - the one which came yesterday - it will be Federer's opponents who will be on theirs. Grovelling.