So Roger Federer is mortal after all. Slumped at the end with head in hands – a rare display of emotion before he regathered his trademark poise – the man who won five consecutive titles here between 2003 and 2007 was perhaps looking round the arena he came to regard as home and wondering whether he would ever now add to his total of seven.
Restored to equilibrium by a post-match shower during the strange break in proceedings that followed Djokovic’s victory while the roof was closed ahead of the trophy presentation, Federer was magnanimity personified in a monogrammed tracksuit.