Federer gets military boost

Roger Federer's successful Wimbledon singles defence against Andy Roddick will ensure he does not have to do military service in Switzerland this year.

By taking a big lead in the ATP Champions Race, which concludes with an eight-man Masters Cup tournament in November, Federer does not believe he will have time to satisfy a compromise deal struck by his parents and Swiss authorities.

Federer said: "As long as I am in the Masters at the end of the year then I have no time. They know what the situation is and so we will just have to see what happens.

"As far as I know, my parents and the military have found an agreement that is for a few days. I don't know if that is per year or the next couple of years. I think everybody is happy."

The idea is for Federer to spend time helping the civil defence section rather than being drafted into a military unit to satisfy regulations that affect every male under the age of 34.

For second seed Roddick, beaten 4-6, 7-5, 7-6, 6-4, the idea that the Swiss could remove Federer from the tour is at least one way of ensuring the World No1 does not dominate the Olympics in Athens and the US Open in New York.

After presenting him with a cow for winning the greatest tennis title in the sport last year - it has since produced a calf - the Swiss are going to give him another one for repeating his Wimbledon feat. On this form, Federer will soon own an entire herd.

Roddick, the US Open champion, will do his best to reduce the number of cows heading Federer's way but admitted: "There is no doubt he is the No1 and there is an aura about him in the locker room right now. At least I proved that Roger is not invincible - but he is pretty close.

"The talent has always been there but he's brought it together mentally in the last year. Losses like this inspire me more and I am right on track."

Roddick, who will now spend some time at home on his boat, joked about "crashing" the Champions party last night to see what Maria Sharapova was wearing. "Hey, I'll bring the beers, let's go."

It was this easy humour that won him a lengthy ovation from the Centre Court crowd, who are hoping the two players will reprise their performance at Wimbledon in the years to come.

However, for Roddick there is the realisation that he threw everything he possesses at Federer and still came up short.

The ability to take break points was his one major weakness. The American converted only four of 14, including six in the fourth set.

Having created a final between the top two players in the game, tennis can look forward to many more head-to-heads, although Roddick, displaying a crowd pleasing humour, pointed out that he would need to win some of their clashes to make it a serious rivalry.

Roddick now trails 6-1 in their matches. The American was hamperedby the two breaks of rain, the second of them coming when he led 4-2 in the third set.

Federer broke back just two games after the match restarted following the 40-minute stoppage. A trademark backhand down the line won the tie-break to go 2-1 up in sets.

Roddick needed to break early in the fourth set and had four break points in the fourth game and another two in the sixth, which also saw the American World No2 shaking the net in frustration after another net cord fell in the Swiss player's favour.

Federer broke to love in the seventh game to leave Roddick bitterly frustrated and the match was lost in two-and-a-half hours.

The 124mph ace that won the title leaves Federer, who admitted the rain breaks had saved him, top of the rankings and the Champions Race. He can now also boast a remarkable 24 wins in a row on grass. Only the great Bjorn Borg is ahead of him, with a staggering 41 successive victories between 1976 and 1981.

Former champion Pat Cash is predicting a tougher future for Federer and said: "Roddick has more room to improve and that's very exciting.

"Federer does not have as much room, but he's already so good. I just hope it gets tougher and tougher for him."

Meanwhile, top seeds Todd Woodbridge and Jonas Bjorkman retained their Wimbledon men's doubles title with 6-1, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 victory over Julian Knowle of Austria, and Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia.

It was 33-year-old Woodbridge's ninth men's doubles title at Wimbledon, breaking the 100-year-old record of the Doherty brothers, Laurie and Reggie.