ROGER Federer became the greatest player in Grand Slam history as he beat Andy Roddick in five dramatic sets for a sixth Wimbledon and 15th major title. The Swiss won 5-7 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (7-5) 3-6 16-14 to surpass Pete Sampras' 14 Grand Slam wins and regain the title he lost to Rafael Nadal last year. And Sampras was back at Wimbledon for the first time since 2002 to watch from the Royal Box as Federer made history. Federer, 27, will now return to the top of the world rankings ahead of Nadal. But he had to dig deep against an in-form Roddick, who had four points for a two-set lead and then battled back to force an epic fifth set as the match became the longest men's singles final ever in terms of games played. Federer lost 9-7 in the fifth to Nadal 12 months ago, but this year's final set alone lasted 95 minutes and with 30 games was considerably longer than the previous Grand Slam record of 11-9 in the fifth set at the 1927 French Open. As he had promised, Sampras made his first visit to Wimbledon since 2002 to watch Federer break the mark he had set in 2003. "Roger's a friend, he's a great player, he's a good guy," stated the American, who won seven Wimbledon titles, one more than Federer's current tally. "He can get 17 or 18 majors. If he just keeps it going and stays healthy, he could go to 18, 19, actually. The guy's a legend and now he's an icon. He's a credit to the game." Sampras made his entrance after the third game of the final and received a round of applause from the crowd as he took his seat alongside fellow tennis legends Bjorn Borg and Rod Laver. Federer looked up from his chair and even greeted the American but admitted that Sampras' presence had made him nervous. In the women's final, Serena Williams ended her sister's recent dominance at Wimbledon with a straight-sets victory over Venus that gave her a third Wimbledon title. The 27-year-old won 7-6 (7-3) 6-2 to regain the title she won in 2002 and 2003, and end five-time champion Venus's hopes of a third straight win. It was the fourth time the sisters had met in a Wimbledon final. Serena has now won 11 Grand Slam titles and holds the Wimbledon, Australian and US Open crowns.
