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Djokovic-Federer breaks record for longest Wimbledon final

Clive Brunskill / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Novak Djokovic's five-set classic over Roger Federer took a resounding four hours and 57 minutes to complete, setting a new record for the longest final ever played at Wimbledon, according to the tournament's official site.

Federer was also involved in the previous record-holding match in 2008, when his loss in the final to Rafael Nadal took four hours and 48 minutes.

Djokovic and Federer were seemingly deadlocked throughout Sunday's All England Club finale, which needed a fifth-set tiebreaker to determine a winner - a first for any Grand Slam.

Following his win, Djokovic commended both his and Federer's play in the lengthy duel.

"Unfortunately, in this kind of match, one of the players has to lose," the now five-time Wimbledon champion said, according to TENNIS.com. "It's quite unreal to be two match points down and come back. I was actually hoping I could get to the tiebreak."

Perhaps mercilessly, Sunday's final came nowhere close to dethroning the longest match ever played in professional tennis. That mark was also set at Wimbledon, when John Isner's first-round victory over Nicolas Mahut in 2010 took a grinding 11 hours and five minutes over three days to complete.

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