Defending championNovak Djokovic defeatedRoger Federer inthe final, 7–6(7–5), 1–6, 7–6(7–4), 4–6, 13–12(7–3) to win the gentlemen's singles tennis title at the2019 Wimbledon Championships. At four hours and 57 minutes in length, it was the longest singles final in Wimbledon history.[1] It was Djokovic's fifthWimbledon title and 16thmajor title overall. Djokovic was the first man sinceBob Falkenburg in1948 to win the title afterbeing championship points down, having saved two when down 7–8 in the fifth set.[2] This was the first time since the2004 French Open that a man saved championship points in order to win a major. Djokovic became the second man and third singles player overall to win multiple major titles after saving a match point during the tournament, afterRod Laver andSerena Williams.[3] Conversely, this was the third time that an opponent of Federer saved match points at a major and went on to win the title, followingMarat Safin in the2005 Australian Open and Djokovic in the2011 US Open.
At this tournament, Federer reached his 31st and last men's singles major final, anall-time record (surpassed by Djokovic in2022). Aged 37 years, 11 months and 6 days, Federer was the oldest man to reach a major final sinceKen Rosewall in the1974 US Open.[4] Federer's semifinal match againstRafael Nadal marked their40th and final professional meeting, with Federer winning to end their head-to-head at 24–16 in Nadal's favor. This was the last tournament in which all of theBig Three reached the semifinals.[5]
This was the first edition of Wimbledon in which a final-settiebreak rule was introduced. Upon reaching 12–12 in the final set, a classic tiebreak would be played. The men's singles final was the first singles match at Wimbledon in which the new rule came into effect, with Djokovic winning the tiebreak 7–3. Additionally, it was the first men's singles final at any major to feature a final-set, championship-deciding tiebreak.
This tournament marked the final professional appearance ofAustralian Open finalistMarcos Baghdatis; he lost in the second round.[6]Stan Wawrinka was attempting to complete the career Grand Slam, but he lost toReilly Opelka in the second round.