2012 Wimbledon Championships – Men's Singles 2012 Wimbledon Championships – Men's Singles Novak Djokovic was the defending champion, but lost in the semifinals to Roger Federer. Federer defeated Andy Murray in the final, 4–6, 7–5, 6–3, 6–4, to win the Gentlemen's Singles tennis title at the 2012 Wimbledon Championships. It was his seventh Wimbledon title and seventeenth Grand Slam title. With the win, Federer also regained the world No. 1 ranking. Federer thus equalled both William Renshaw and Pete Sampras' record of seven Wimbledon titles, as well as Sampras' record of 286 weeks as world No. 1; Federer broke the latter record on 16 July 2012.
2008 Wimbledon Championships – Men's singles final Wimbledon Championships, the two men had combined to win 14 of the previous 16 Grand Slam titles. The 2008 Wimbledon Men's Singles final was the third consecutive year in which Federer and Nadal had met in the finals of Wimbledon. Federer had won not only both previous meetings, but had also been the Wimbledon champion five years in a row and was now trying to become champion for a sixth consecutive year. Nadal, on the other hand, had just won the French Open for the fourth time in a row and was trying to achieve the rare French Open-Wimbledon double.