Once more tears of joy and relief flowed on Centre Court yesterday. And again they belonged to Roger Federer, elegant, serene and as ruthless a Wimbledon champion as tennis has ever seen. The world number one confirmed his greatness with a 6-2 7-6 6-4 win against Andy Roddick to take his third consecutive Wimbledon title and join an elite club including the likes of Fred Perry, Bjorn Borg and Pete Sampras. As he kissed the famous gold trophy and lifted it once more above his head you wondered whether there was a more complete sportsman currently on the planet. Perhaps Lance Armstrong, presently competing in his final Tour de France. Maybe Tiger Woods at his best. But they rarely dominate their closest rivals with the same devastating superiority Federer showed against Roddick. At times the American, statistically the world's second best player on grass but who had beaten Federer only once in their last nine matches, appeared positively mediocre in comparison to the sublime Swiss. How do you beat him? "Maybe I'll just punch him or something," joked Roddick, who last year insisted he had thrown the "kitchen sink" at Federer only to be felled by a Swiss "bath tub". This year the American never remotely threatened Federer, who is currently playing a game with which most mortals are not familiar. Roddick admitted: "He's become such a complete player. This guy's the best for a reason and he deserves a lot of credit." As for Federer the relief and pride was tangible. He said: "I played my best and I'm very, very proud that it's the third time. It is very special. "It was easier than the second title. I don't know why but I felt better throughout the whole tournament, although the pressure was on because of my semi-final losses in Australia and at the French Open. "I came here with big expectations and it is a dream." Victory secured Federer's 36th consecutive win on grass and he is fast catching Borg's record of 41. It was also his 30th career title at just 23. The frequent shakes of the Roddick head told its own story. Federer, it seems, is unbeatable, at least when he gets to a final, the Swiss having won every one of his last 21 finals, stretching back to Vienna in 2003. The first set went in a 22-minute blur. Fifteen clean winners from Federer, just one unforced error. Not quite perfection, but not far off. The crucial break came in the sixth game, a series of magnificent backhands from Federer engineering the opportunity. Federer was treating the most fearsome serve in the game with little short of contempt and he took the set with another break in the eighth game, albeit with the aid of a mishit on a cross-court backhand. It seemed so routine in Centre Court. It needed the edge of genuine competition to rouse the passions and in the second set Roddick delivered. He didn't win it but he got closer to Federer, breaking the Swiss serve in the third game, desperately striving to find a weakness in the world number one. Three games later the set was back on serve, again due to the quality of the Federer groundstrokes. Roddick saved two set points in the 10th game and survived a fusillade of Federer backhands in the 12th to take the set to a tie-break. The shoot-out was barely a contest, one searing backhand from Federer easing him to 4-2, while the next point saw Roddick fling his racket to the ground in a mixture of frustration and disgust after netting an easy forehand. Two sets down in barely an hour and 12 minutes and the rain came. Could it save Roddick? Would it give him time to regroup? The truth, however, is Roddick only has one way. Hit it hard and when that fails hit it even harder. When they returned however, it continued in the same vein. He was outgunned, another brilliant cross-court forehand giving Federer the break in the seventh game by which time Roddick had all but bowed to the inevitable. All that was left was for Federer to slump to his knees at the point of victory and roll on to his back with his hands clasped to his head. He said: "Sampras was one of my favourite players. Borg was fantastic. To be in that group is very special to me. I hope it's not going to stop with three. Hopefully some day I'll win a fourth one but this is great." | 
