Roger Federer Magnanimous After Defeat by Novak Djokovic in Wimbledon Final

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. (Djokovic Wins Third Wimbledon Crown, Ends Federer's Dreams)

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. "I thought he played great. I didn't play bad myself. That's how it goes," he said. "I am still very hungry and motivated to keep playing." (Federer Blames Rain for Wimbledon Defeat)

Federer knew that to win Wimbledon for the eighth time he would have to maintain or even surpass the superlative levels he reached in beating Andy Murray on Friday. In the end it was not to be, as the Swiss - surely now confirmed as the greatest ever to play the game - was ground down by the brilliance and athleticism of Novak Djokovic. (Federer Not Ready to be Written Off Yet)

This was not the imperious Federer of Friday, who had blown away Murray by rolling back the years. There were plenty of glimpses of him, not least during a titanic second-set tie-break in which he levelled the scores having saved seven set points. But just as on Friday Murray was able to say he played close to his limit but not quite close enough, so here Federer fell short by the smallest of margins. Perhaps fatigue did play a part, perhaps the cooler conditions suited him less than Djokovic.

By the fourth set that elegant backhand was not working quite as it had. Against Djokovic he made 35 unforced errors, compared with 11 in defeating Murray. The Federer serve, so terrifyingly impregnable on a march to the final in which he dropped only one service game, was not quite as unplayable. Before the final someone unearthed the statistic that, when Federer gets 76% of his first serves in at Wimbledon, he wins. Against Djokovic it was 67%. He won less than half the points on his second serve.

When the players returned following a short rain delay at 3-2 to Djokovic in the third, it was as though he had aged in the interim. There were crucial moments - when he failed to convert two set points in the first set and, in particular, when he failed to capitalise on levelling at one set all by handing Djokovic the initiative early in the third - when Federer's challenge foundered on fine margins. But like last year's five-set epic this was a match to be enjoyed for its aesthetics rather than seen through the prism of endless stats. In admiring his imperiousness over the past fortnight it was worth recalling the eulogies when Federer sat in the bunker-like Wimbledon press room and analysed in his matter-of-fact way his defeat by the Ukrainian world No116, Sergiy Stakhovsky, in 2013. Few of those present would have given him much hope of being here for his second consecutive final - apart, that is, from the man himself. And here he was, on the verge of his 34th birthday, the oldest finalist since Ken Rosewall in 1974, still the darling of the Centre Court.

Around the turn of that year he took on Stefan Edberg as coach, switched to a larger racket head size and has enjoyed an Indian summer since, despite his 18th grand slam title remaining frustratingly out of reach. Federer loves it here and they undoubtedly adore him. "It's beautiful. It almost means as much to me as winning. I've been around for a long, long time. It's so cool when everyone gets involved," he said afterwards.

Gliding around Centre Court, he slips seamlessly in alongside the upmarket brands unobtrusively nestling amid the green and cream colour scheme. Djokovic, in contrast, is backed by the more utilitarian likes of Uniqlo and Peugeot. Federer, even in his advancing years, brings in $54m a year in endorsements. Has a sportsman ever managed so comprehensively to monetise his huge talents while maintaining such an aura and giving away so little of himself?

At times during the past two years Federer has come close to regaining the aura of his imperial phase - not least against Murray, when a stunning display of dominant serving was capped off by that amazing whipped backhand that seemed to defy the laws of physics.

He was not able to reach those stratospheric heights against Djokovic or wasn't allowed to, but he does not have to prove anything to anyone. "It does not feel [like] I am chasing anything," he said. "I am right there. My game is good. I got broken very few times. I played on my terms. Things are all right." He does not yet sound like a man contemplating the end of a career that in the final reckoning will surely stand comparison with any other, in any sport.