Tennis players are masters of delusion. Ask them to remember a defeat and their memories will be sketchy; invite them to talk you through a big victory and they will wax lyrical for as long as you can spare. When Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer meet in the men’s final here on Sunday, for the second year in a row, everything bad that has gone before will be wiped clean and one thought will occupy their minds: how to win another Wimbledon title.
For Djokovic, the world No1, victory would mean a second straight title and a third in all, which would tie him with his coach, Boris Becker, and John McEnroe, give him a ninth grand slam title and further cement his position at the top of the tree.