Federer wins Wimbledon

"It's an absolute dream for me. I always used to joke around when I was a boy that I was going to win this and I have it," said the 21-year-old, cradling the famous Challenge Cup.

With both players appearing in their first Wimbledon final they could have been excused some early nerves. But if there were any, they were well disguised in a start to the match lit up by booming aces, flashing returns and rock-solid volleying.

The first set turned out to be a neck-to-neck battle. Both players produced near perfect tennis thumping winners all around the court. After 12 breathtaking games won on serve with no break points, the set was sent into a tiebreak.

Philippoussis and Federer shared the lead in the deciding game, but the decisive moment came at 4-5 when an edgy looking Philippoussis served his third double fault to hand Federer two set points. He missed his first set point but wrapped it up in the second after an overpowered return of serve by the Scud.

In the second set the stylish Swiss player kept his momentum going breaking the Scud in the first game. His great variety of shots combined with amazing footwork allowed the Swiss to rush into a 4-0 lead in 13 brilliant minutes

Philippoussis stopped the rot to hold in the fifth game, but there was no respite as fourth-seed Federer maintained the pressure with a masterful display of all-court tennis to serve out the set with his 14th ace.

In the decider there were signs that Philippoussis was warming to the task as he rediscovered his serving rhythm, but he still could not make an impression on his opponent's delivery. The Scud was playing against a strong brick wall and was never able to obtain a single break point.

As the match moved into another tiebreak, a mishit forehand return that dropped agonisingly inside the baseline gave Federer a 3-1 lead and when Philippoussis missed a simple volley the writing was on the wall.

Federer missed a backhand on his first championship point at 6-1 and Philippoussis held off another with a powerful serve. But the Swiss made no mistake at 6-3, dropping to his knees in triumph when Philippoussis failed to make a return.

He got down to his knees greeting his triumph with tears of joy.

"Roger was too good I just congratulate him, it's his day definitely. I only had one break point. He returned a lot better than I did today. He took his chances", Philippoussis said.

"But I'm definitely proud, there are a lot of positive things to take away from these two weeks. I will definitely be back that's for sure," added the 26-year-old," he added.