The retired seven-time Wimbledon champion had landed in London on Sunday morning for a "surreal" 24-hour stay. He had turned up with his wife, Brigitte Wilson, during the first changeover, ambling down the steps to applause and filling out a Royal Box that included past champions Bjorn Borg, Rod Laver and Manolo Santana. He had waved to the crowd and made Federer temporarily nervous, but not too much so to say hello from the court.
Consistent, aggressive, probing and searing of serve as ever, just as in his upset of No. 3 Andy Murray in the semifinals on Friday, Roddick came upon four set points for a two-set lead when he put away a soft forehand volley for a 6-2 lead in the tiebreaker. Just then, though, Federer played a short-hop, cross-court backhand out of the Federer art gallery, plus a service winner and an ace for 6-5.
After four-plus hours and on the 436th point came a completely unfitting but not unexpected finale when the ball caromed from a forehand miss-hit by Roddick and sprayed away. Federer would leap. The crowd would chant in what Roddick called "a nice and appreciated gesture." And somehow, on a day supposedly about somebody else, Roddick would go about grappling with the singular pain of closeness.
