The legend of Novak Djokovic, a man who could probably look a great white shark in the eye without blinking, can only be bolstered by his extraordinary feat of winning the longest Wimbledon final in history.

Djokovic became the first man in the Open era to save Championship points in a final here and still go on to win the title. He came through three tie-breaks – including the first 12-12 tie-break to be contested in singles, anywhere in the world – to edge Roger Federer by an unfamiliar-looking 7-6, 1-6, 7-6, 4-6, 13-12 scoreline.

Not for the first time, Djokovic defied the vast balance of crowd support. There was a memorable moment at the end of the match when he stood and stared up into the screaming mass of fans – not saying anything, but just projecting a “Yeah, you and whose army?” kind of vibe. Then he squatted down on his hips and performed his personal tradition of plucking a blade of grass and eating it.

It was his fifth championship here – an incredible feat for a man who grew up playing in empty swimming pools, and had barely seen a grass court until he first came to Wimbledon in his late teens. And it came in such an epic that even chair umpire Damian Steiner lost count of the score in the final stages.

Jeff Bezos, the world’s most famous shopping magnate, was looking on from the Royal Box as the two greatest Wimbledon champions of this era took the court. Bezos could probably afford to buy Centre Court 100 times over, but you can’t put a price on this kind of final. At 4hr 57min, it outlasted the legendary 2008 showdown between Federer and Rafael Nadal by nine minutes, and came close to achieving the same transcendent drama down the final straight. “I'm the loser both times,” said Federer afterwards, “so that's the only similarity I see.”