10 must-read articles

1. Apple Pay has launched in the UK

From today more than 250,000 shops across the UK, including Boots, Marks & Spencer, Wagamama and Waitrose will start accepting Apple Pay (The Telegraph). The iPhone and Apple Watch payment method can also be used to make contactless payments on all TfL services in London. It is only compatible with certain banks and certain cards, with more being added later this year.

2. Moneypenny could be Facebook's new virtual assistant

The social network is reportedly working on a virtual assistant (The Information via The Next Web). But unlike Siri and Google's virtual assistant, Facebook's helper will be an actual human. Moneypenny, the project's codename, will apparently be available via the Facebook Messenger app and let users to ask real people for help with research and shopping.

3. Pluto is bigger than we thought

The former planet has a diameter of about 1,473 miles, some 50 miles wider than previously predicted (Reuters). The change in size makes Pluto definitively bigger than Eris, another dwarf planet at the outer reaches of the Solar System. Measuring Pluto's size from distance had been difficult due to its atmosphere, but with New Horizons now less than one million miles away, we can finally be sure.

4. Saudi supercomputer enters top ten

The Shaheen II, located at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia, is the first supercomputer based in the Middle East to enter the world's top ten list, debuting at number seven (BBC). China's Tianhe-2 kept its position as the most powerful supercomputer in the world in the latest rankings.

5. Facebook wants Adobe to kill Flash

Alex Stamos, Facebook’s new chief security officer, has taken to Twitter to say Adobe should end Flash once and for all (Business Insider). "It is time for Adobe to announce the end-of-life date for Flash and to ask the browsers to set killbits on the same day," he wrote. His comments come after the recent Hacking Team attack revealed a number of new Flash vulnerabilities.

6. Samsung working on a smartphone fat sensor

A new patent describes a method for measuring body fat using four sensors installed in or on top of a smartphone (VentureBeat). The four sensors work together to measure impedance levels from contact with the human body. In an illustration a human hand is shown gripping the phone-based sensors. Such information could one day be used to provide more data to health and fitness apps.

7. 'Very British Problems' Twitter feed gets TV show

The popular account, which details the stereotyped daily pains of being British, is being turned into three hour-long TV episodes for Channel 4 (British Comedy Guide). The show will feature "comedians and some of Britain's best-loved famous faces" talking about how ruddy awkward it is to be British. Blimey. James Corden, Ruth Jones, Vic Reeves, Jonathan Ross and Johny Vegas are all apparently lined up to appear.

8. Land Rover recalls 65,000 vehicles after software bug

The bug allowed other people to unlock car doors without a driver knowing, the firm said (BBC). All Range Rover and Range Rover Sport vehicles sold between 2013 and now are affected. Thieves are reportedly able to use a handheld device to unlock and start cars with keyless ignition systems. Land Rover has placed adverts in newspapers to make people aware of the recall.

9. Ellen Pao not behind AMA firing, says former CEO

Former Reddit CEO Yishan Wong has accused the site's co-founder Alexis Ohanian of instigating the firing of popular employee Victoria Taylor, an event that led to the backlash that eventually saw interim CEO Ellen Pao resign (Engadget). Writing on Reddit, Wong said Ohanian "didn't like Victoria's role, and decided to fire her" but let Pao take the heat.

10. Teens react to encyclopedias

Wikipedia and the wider internet may have spelled the end for encyclopedias, but you might still expect teenagers to have a basic grasp of what these dusty old books were used for (YouTube). Apparently not. As one American 16-year-old puts it, they're like "dictionaries...for different stuff".

Source: wired.co.uk

Iran agrees to landmark nuclear deal

VIENNA — After 18 days of intense and often fractious negotiation, diplomats Tuesday declared that world powers and Iran had struck a landmark deal to curb Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for billions of dollars in relief from international sanctions — an agreement designed to alleviate the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran and the possibility of another U.S. military intervention in the Muslim world.

The accord will keep Iran from producing enough material for a nuclear weapon for at least 10 years and impose new provisions for inspections of Iranian facilities, including military sites.

The European Union, which has shepherded the talks, announced a final session between the foreign ministers of Iran, the United States, Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia for 10:30 a.m. local time in Vienna (4:30 a.m. ET). An announcement of the accord was to be made afterward at a news conference with EU foreign policy chief Frederica Mogherini and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, the diplomats said.

The diplomats spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the deal before it is officially announced.

The so-called Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action was reached after more than two weeks of furious diplomacy, during which negotiators blew through three self-imposed deadlines. Zarif and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who conducted most of the negotiations, both threatened to walk away while trading accusations of intransigence.

The breakthrough came after several key compromises.

Diplomats said Iran agreed to the continuation of a U.N. arms embargo on the country for up to five more years, though it could end earlier if the International Atomic Energy Agency definitively clears Iran of any current work on nuclear weapons. A similar condition was put on U.N. restrictions on the transfer of ballistic missile technology to Tehran, which could last for up to eight more years.

Washington had sought to maintain the ban on Iran importing and exporting weapons, concerned that an Islamic Republic flush with cash from the nuclear deal would expand its military assistance for Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government, Yemen’s Houthi rebels, the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and other forces opposing America’s Mideast allies such as Saudi Arabia and Israel.

Iranian leaders insisted the embargo had to end as their forces combat regional scourges such as the Islamic State. And they got some support from China and particularly Russia, which wants to expand military cooperation and arms sales to Tehran, including the long-delayed transfer of S-300 advanced air defense systems — a move long opposed by the United States.

Another significant agreement will allow U.N. inspectors to press for visits to Iranian military sites as part of their monitoring duties, something the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had long vowed to oppose. However, access isn’t guaranteed and could be delayed, a condition that critics of the deal are sure to seize on as possibly giving Tehran time to cover up any illicit activity.

Under the deal, Tehran would have the right to challenge the U.N request and an arbitration board composed of Iran and the six world powers would then decide on the issue. The IAEA also wants the access to complete its long-stymied investigation of past weapons work by Iran, and the U.S. says Iranian cooperation is needed for all economic sanctions to be lifted.

The deal comes after nearly a decade of international, intercontinental diplomacy that until recently was defined by failure. Breaks in the talks sometimes lasted for months, and Iran’s nascent nuclear program expanded into one that Western intelligence agencies saw as only a couple of months away from weapons capacity. The U.S. and Israel both threatened possible military responses.

The United States joined the negotiations in 2008, and U.S. and Iranian officials met together secretly four years later in Oman to see if diplomatic progress was possible. But the process remained essentially stalemated until summer 2013, when Hassan Rouhani was elected president and declared his country ready for serious compromise.

More secret U.S.-Iranian discussions followed, culminating in a face-to-face meeting between Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif at the United Nations in September 2013 and a telephone conversation between Rouhani and President Barack Obama. That conversation marked the two countries’ highest diplomatic exchange since Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution and the ensuing hostage crisis at the American embassy in Tehran.

Kerry and Zarif took the lead in the negotiations. Two months later, in Geneva, Iran and the six powers announced an interim agreement that temporarily curbed Tehran’s nuclear program and unfroze some Iranian assets while setting the stage for Tuesday’s comprehensive accord.

It took time to get the final deal, however. The talks missed deadlines for the pact in July 2014 and November 2014, leading to long extensions. Finally, in early April, negotiators reached framework deal in Lausanne, Switzerland, setting up the last push for the historic agreement.

Protracted negotiations still lie ahead to put the agreement into practice and deep suspicion reigns on all sides about violations that could unravel the accord. And spoilers abound.

In the United States, Congress has a 60-day review period during which Obama cannot make good on any concessions to the Iranians. U.S. lawmakers could hold a vote of disapproval and take further action.

Iranian hardliners oppose dismantling a nuclear program the country has spent hundreds of billions of dollars developing. Khamenei, while supportive of his negotiators thus far, has issued a series of defiant red lines that may be impossible to reconcile in a deal with the West.

And further afield, Israel will strongly oppose the outcome. It sees the acceptance of extensive Iranian nuclear infrastructure and continued nuclear activity as a mortal threat, and has warned that it could take military action on its own, if necessary.

Similarly, the Sunni Arab rivals of Shiite Iran are none too happy, either, with Saudi Arabia in particularly issuing veiled threats to develop its own nuclear program.

Source: PBC news hour

Knicks, Lakers learning to rebuild the hard way

LAS VEGAS -- Not to damn the vibe with faint praise, but the atmosphere for Monday evening's summer league game between two of the NBA's flagship franchises more than matched the intensity of Madison Square Garden or Staples Center on a lot of nights last season.

Fans filled the lower bowl of the Thomas & Mack Center for the meeting between the summer squads of the New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers. Top executives from both teams sat in courtside seats.

In L.A. East, as former Lakers point guard and current Knicks coach Derek Fisher calls Las Vegas, there was a lot of purple and gold in the stands. There was also a lot of energy, much more than the norm for a July game played primarily by NBA wannabes.

"I thought it was good for the young guys to get an experience like this where the ebbs and flows of an NBA game and the crowd getting into it and out of it and how quickly momentum can change," said Fisher, the rare NBA head coach who serves in that role during the summer. "Guys are getting a little bit of a taste of what it might be like in the preseason or the regular season if they're able to make it that far."

The action on the floor wasn't exactly NBA-caliber in the Knicks' 76-66 victory. But let's be brutally honest: That was often the case with the varsity squads of the Knicks (17-65) and Lakers (21-61) last season, when both teams sunk to historic franchise lows.

Which is why this year's summer league matters as much to the Lakers and Knicks, two of the NBA glitz-and-glamour teams, as any of the 24 teams represented in the desert.

If these proud franchises are to be soon restored to respectability, much less glory, it will be in large part because of the prospects playing in Vegas.

The Knicks have a pair of first-round picks in power forward Kristaps Porzingis(fourth overall) and point guard Jerian Grant (19th overall). Shooting guardLangston Galloway and forwards Cleanthony Early and Travis Wear all got significant playing time as rookies and have a chance to develop into quality role players.

The Lakers' team features three first-rounders: guard D'Angelo Russell, the No. 2 overall pick; forward Larry Nance Jr., 27th overall pick; and Julius Randle, the seventh overall pick last year who is essentially a redshirt rookie after suffering a season-ending leg injury in his NBA debut. Point guard Jordan Clarkson is coming off an All-Rookie campaign. Center Tarik Black is also a rotation candidate.

"I don't know if it takes on an added importance," said Lakers coach Byron Scott, who watched from a courtside seat across from the team's bench. "I think what it does is gives us a chance for these young guys to really jell together and see what they can all bring to the table. It gives us a chance to really get them on the floor and get them to see what this is all about right now."

For most franchises, the summer league provides a glimpse into the future. For the Lakers and Knicks, much of their present is playing in July.

Source: ESPN

Woman detained in Abu Dhabi for Facebook Post

Australian, Jodi Magi, detained for posting a photo of a car parked across two disabled parking spaces.

An Australian woman has been jailed by the Abu Dhabi authorities after falling foul of the country’s strict social media laws.

Jodi Magi, 39, is being held in prison pending her deportation.

Ms Magi was convicted of “writing bad words about a person” by an Abu Dhabi court in May,

Her offence was to post a picture of a car parked across two disabled spaces on her Facebook Page.

She aroused the ire of the authorities even though the number plate of the car had been blanked out.

Having been convicted, Ms Magi tried to leave the country, having offered to pay the fine of £1,727.

But this was turned down by the Abu Dhabi authorities who insisted she presented herself to a court.

At this point she was arrested and taken away in a police van.

"No one's talking to me. No one's telling me what's going on," she told the Australian broadcaster, ABC, from the back of the van.

“They were about to put me in male lock-up and then they turned me away and no one knows what to do with me. I'm pretty scared."

It is still unclear how long Ms Magi will remain in custody.

A spokesman for Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said its travel advice for visitors to the United Arab Emirates was that they should be aware that the country’s laws appeared harsh by Australian standards.

Source:The Telegraph

Disney's Hollywood Studios

Is Disney's Hollywood Studios about to get its version of a Blue Sky Cellar preview center in the now closed 'The Magic of Disney Animation' building?

It is widely known that the park is about to undergo a major transformation - bringing new attractions, new lands, and even a new name to the park that now finds itself lacking a cohesive theme and identity.

The upcoming D23 event just over a month away would seem the most likely opportunity for us to hear details of exactly what Disney has planned for the park, which brings us to the future role of The Magic of Disney Animation building.

A number of sources have indicated to us that current plans are to convert the former animation building into a preview center for the park's makeover project. Much like the Blue Sky Cellar that originally operated at the Disneyland Resort to promote its makeover of the California Adventure park, expect to see models, plans and more as the planning and construction progresses.

If the Studio preview center follows the Blue Sky Cellar model, also expect to see frequent updates, including exhibits on past attractions and other items of historical interest. Although not announced, One Man's Dream is expected to also close as part of the park's updates. If this is indeed the case, many of those exhibits could be relocated to the Magic of Animation exhibit.

Disney has not yet confirmed any plans for The Magic of Disney Animation, or made any comments on the park's future changes. All information should be treated as speculation until officially announced.

Source: wdwmagic.com

Malala YousufZai:Speech on 18th Birthday

"I am honoured to mark my 18th birthday with the brave and inspiring girls of Syria. I am here on behalf of the 28 million children who are kept from the classroom because of armed conflict. Their courage and dedication to continue their schooling in difficult conditions inspires people around the world and it is our duty to stand by them.”

Human Rights Activist and Nobel Laureate Malala Yousafzai celebrated her 18th birthday in an incredible way. Yesterday, she expressed herunyielding commitment to refugees and education by inaugurating a school for more than 200 Syrian girls living in refugee camps in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley. This new school, named The Malala Yousafzai All-Girls School, will offer education and skills training to girl refugees aged 14 to 18.

"On this day, I have a message for the leaders of this country, this region and the world: ‘you are failing the Syrian people, especially Syria's children’. This is a heart-breaking tragedy -- the world's worst refugee crisis in decades."

Malala, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014, was attacked in her native Pakistan in 2012 because of her campaign for girls' rights and education.

Lebanon is currently hosting nearly 1.2 million registered Syrian refugees, though the total number in the country may be even higher.

Source:UNHCR

BRICS countries have closer partnership, broader prospects

In a commentary last Friday, People's Daily said that the BRICS countries will make greater contributions to world peace and development as long as the bloc continues todeepen cooperation. A closer partnership between the BRICS nations will definitely create broader prospects.

The leaders' meeting mechanism plays the most crucial political leading role in the multilevel and comprehensive cooperation framework between BRICS countries. The 7th BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) summit was held in the south western Russian city of Ufa on July 9, 2015. The summit is of great importance for the BRIC Snations to join hands in building a closer partnership.

The theme of this year's summit is "BRICS partnership: A powerful factor for global development". In his keynote speech on the summit, Chinese President Xi Jinping called on BRICS countries to build a four-pronged partnership -- safeguarding world peace,boosting common development, promoting diversified civilization and strengthening global economic governance.

The farsighted proposal will guide people to further understand the positioning, mission and influence of BRICS countries, the commentary said.

The steady development of cooperation between BRICS countries has proved the block's effectiveness and forceful action. The BRICS bloc has increasingly become a driving force in promoting world economic growth and international financial monetary system reform.

Furthermore, the BRICS bloc can further stimulate the rising momentum of the over all strength in emerging market countries and the majority of developing countries, as well as having a profound influence in international affairs.

It is predicted that the BRICS countries will play an active and constructive role in the post-2015 development agenda, climate change negotiations, IMF reform, and other global issues. 

The world economy is in a deep adjustment stage after the global financial crisis. Under such background, the BRICS nations are facing many difficulties and challenges. Thus,they choose to join hands and strengthen cooperation.

source:People's daily 

Minions:Animated film 'Minions' dominates NA box office

Universal Pictures' "Minions" is believed to have racked up over $115 million at the North American box office over the weekend.

This makes it the second biggest opening for an animated film in history, following "Shrek the Third" for the latter's 2007's start with $122 million in ticket revenue.

The spin off from "Despicable Me" scored over $46 million in Friday's box office, the best single day    ever for a cartoon feature.

And it received a solid "A" rating from first-night moviegoers on Cinema Score.

In second place, Universal's "Jurassic World" continues to be strong, adding another $18 million on its fifth weekend in theaters. It has now sold $590 million in tickets in North America.

This leaves it just less than $10 million away from becoming the fourth film ever to reach the$600 million box office milestone in the US and Canada.

"Inside Out" is ranked third, with an estimated $17 million.

The 3D computer animated blockbuster has gathered $284 million of tickets sales in North America in 24 days.

Source: China Daily

Greece crisis: Homeless people

Maria Karra can't believe her eyes.

The founder of an Athens charity for the homeless says the hardship she sees daily on the city's streets reminds her of crises in much poorer countries."I used to do this in developing countries in southeast Asia, and now I do the same in Greece, negotiating food donations -- pasta, rice, legumes, milk," she said.

Karra started Emfasis with her former classmate, Tassos Smetopoulos, in 2013. The country's economic crisis was in full swing and the number of people in need of help was rising rapidly.

Since then, things have only gotten worse. Greece now has the highest poverty rate in the European Union.

Karra and Smetopoulos say the situation is getting worse. They've seen the number of people living on the streets of Athens rise by about 40% in just three months. The Greek government estimates there are now 20,000 homeless people in Athens -- among a population of 660,000.

"We see a lot more young people on the streets now," Karra says. People aged between 26 and 45 now make up the biggest group of homeless in the capital city according to Emfasis. "These are people in their most productive age, living on the streets."

Karra and Smetopoulos say the situation is getting worse. They've seen the number of people living on the streets of Athens rise by about 40% in just three months. The Greek government estimates there are now 20,000 homeless people in Athens -- among a population of 660,000.

"We see a lot more young people on the streets now," Karra says. People aged between 26 and 45 now make up the biggest group of homeless in the capital city according to Emfasis. "These are people in their most productive age, living on the streets."

Emfasis has around 110 volunteers working in Athens six days a week, trying to help those in need. They give the homeless advice on where to take a shower and how to navigate the Greek bureaucracy to access welfare. They distribute food, blankets and other basic essentials.

Lately, a lot of people have been asking for books. Many of the people who Emfasis helps are educated and had careers before the crisis hit. They use sophisticated language, and they want to talk about anything but their situation.

Source:CNN

Satoru Iwata President of Nintendo has passed away

Satoru Iwata, the president and CEO of Nintendo for more than a decade, has died at the age of 55.
"Nintendo Co., Ltd. deeply regrets to announce that President Satoru Iwata passed away on July 11, 2015 due to a bile duct growth," the video game company announced Sunday night in a very brief statement. Iwata assumed the mantle of chief executive at Nintendo in 2002, replacing Hiroshi Yamauchi and becoming only the fourth president in the company's 125-year history — and the first outside the Yamauchi family to serve in that role. But Iwata's relationship with the company began much earlier, when he started at HAL Laboratory, a video game developer closely associated with Nintendo. Iwata was a rarity in the gaming industry: a corporate president whose background was in game programming. He joined the Tokyo-based developer HAL Laboratory fresh out of college in the early 80s, and immediately began working as a programmer, helping to create classic games like Balloon Fight and the Kirby's Dream Land series for Nintendo. Since taking the top spot at Nintendo, Iwata's fortunes with the company had been somewhat up and down. He oversaw not only the disappointment of the underwhelming GameCube system, but also the development and release of the handheld Nintendo DS and the Wii console, both of which have been partly credited with leading a turnaround of sorts at the company in the 2000s. Iwata's health had suffered in the past two years, Iwata had undergone surgery in June 2014 to remove a growth on his bile duct, causing him to miss the company's annual shareholders meeting. In a statement to shareholders at the time, Iwata said his doctors were confident that they had detected the growth early and that he had no symptoms from the growth. Iwata had returned to his duties in October of last year. Despite signs of recovery then, Iwata recently missed this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo, an important annual conference in the video game industry. Nintendo has not yet announced a successor for Iwata.

source:NPR

China says fleeing Uighurs were 'on way to join jihad

Beijing has said that more than 100 members of the minority Muslim Uighur community, who were returned by Thailand after fleeing China, were on their way to join armed groups in the Middle East.

China's official Xinjua news agency cited the country's ministry of public security in a report on Sunday that said the 109 Uighurs "intended to join jihad" in Turkey, Syria or Iraq.

The report also said a Chinese police investigation had uncovered several gangs recruiting people to fight, and that Turkish diplomats in some Southeast Asian countries had facilitated the illegal movement of people.

The Uighurs were detained in Thailand more than a year ago, but said they were Turkish. A group of 173 were sent to Turkey after Thai authorities said they determined they were in fact Turkish, but 109 were found to be from China, according to Thai deputy government spokesman Verachon Sukhonthapatipak.

Thailand has been harshly criticised by the United Nations, the European Union and human rights groups for repatriating Uighurs back to China, where activists say they face widespread religious and cultural persecution, instead of sending them to Turkey, which has accepted other Uighurs.

Xinhua said that many of the 109 Uighurs had been radicalised by materials sent by the exiled World Uyghur Congress, a Germany-based rights group for the Turkic-speaking ethnic minority, and the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, designated by China as a terrorist organisation.

'Total lies'

Dilxat Raxit, World Uyghur Congress spokesman, said that China was "shirking responsibility for Uighurs fleeing because of its policy of suppression. The so-called radicals are those who hope to flee China and live a stable and dignified life in a safe and free country."

Omer Kanat, a vice president of the World Uyghur Congress, told Al Jazeera the accusations against the 109 Uighurs, a number that includes 20 women, were "total lies".

"The serious accusations imply China has already decided what to do with them. It is very clear they will be tortured and maybe some will be executed," Kanat said.

Sixty-seven Uighurs remain in Thailand, which has not decided yet what to do with them. 

The exodus of Uighurs from China to neighbouring countries peaked in 2013 and 2014. There have been significantly less in 2015 due to tightened border controls

Source: AlJazeera

Djokovic beats Federer for 3rd Wimbledon title

News

London- For the second year in a row Novak Djokovic beats Roger Federer in the Wimbledon final.

Djokovic won the title, preventing Federer from earning eighth record.

                                 Photo:Google

Novak Djokovic wins 7-6, 6-7, 6-4, 6-3 to win his third Wimbledon title.

In a match split between dry and rain-threatened, the world’s best player wore down the world’s favourite player 7-6, 6-7, 6-4, 6-3 and spread the misery for the Swiss’s many fans over five minutes short of three hours of compelling theatre.

In this most intriguing of plays on the game’s grandest stage, there was little between the antagonists during the elongated prelude – the two hours and 11 minutes in which they stretched each other’s repertoire before rain forced them indoors – but plenty in the shorter concluding act under the partially drawn roof, especially in the denouement.

Djokovic played virtually friendless throughout, which came as no surprise to anybody. When Federer won the first five points of the match, striking the first of 13 aces he put past Djokovic on the day, there will have been a genuine and wholly ludicrous desire running through sections of the awed gathering for the No2 seed to continue winning every point all the way to the end, when the sun would reappear and trumpets would celebrate his greatness.

It did not quite work out like that. After an uncertain start, Djokovic got into his serve a couple of times but Federer was in a different zone – not for the first time in the tournament – and held to love again for 3-2 after a quarter of an hour.

As in his lead-from-the-front win over Andy Murray in the semi-finals, Federer had the advantage of scoreboard pressure, and that bore fruit to the delight of his fans when he broke the Serb to love in the sixth game with superb control of his racket and space.

Then the oohs of disappointment that greeted his botched volley, low and close to the net, reflected the tension in the crowd, who suspected there was plenty of tennis left in this match.

Serving to stay in the set after 32 minutes, Djokovic saved set-point and held with an ace to force the tie-break, which he won handsomely, Federer’s poise under pressure deserting him for the first time. It didn’t seem quite fair, on balance, as Federer, straining elegantly for his eighth title, had bossed most of the set with his precision tennis. But when he double-faulted to lose the frame he had nobody to blame but himself – and the persistence of his opponent.

After 44 minutes, the mood was beginning to shift. When Djokovic aced Federer and the Swiss handed him the first game of the second set to love, disappointment dulled the moment for the overwhelming majority of those present. They were heartened when Federer also held to love, the reception raucous; when Djokovic held to 15, there was muted applause. And so it went pretty much all the way to the line, an imbalance of love.

They worked their way towards another tie-break, Federer holding for 6-6, and this one could hardly have been more different to the first. This time, Federer would not be moved. He thrashed a classic backhand winner to announce his intent, but Djokovic led 4-2 at the changeover; it seemed very much like he was going two sets up. However, after he had served for the set four times, comfortable assumptions were shelved.

Djokovic handed Federer his first set point and, coming to the net in majestic style, the Swiss put away the winner. The place went wild.

The stage was set for a repeat of last year’s terrific final and Djokovic duly stuck to the script, breaking in the third game of the third set then steadying himself in the shot to protect his lead – while Federer, of course, continued to go for his shot in every exchange. The Serb led 3-2 with a break when the rain forced them off at 4.21pm. After two hours and 11 minutes – five minutes fewer than Federer’s longest match of the tournament – there was almost nothing between them.

Djokovic had 11 aces, Federer 10, but the Serb had two double-faults to one; they were each serving at 65%; Djokovic had 29 winners to Federer’s 45; Federer had 28 unforced errors to 13. Federer had taken just one break from seven chances, Djokovic two from six. It was at the net where Federer shone, winning 30 of 40 visits, Djokovic 11 from 22.

They resumed at 4.40pm and the narrative changed gear. Within a quarter of an hour Djokovic served out the set to love for 6-4, and it was surely his match to lose. He had won 94% of his first serves in that game, with just two unforced errors, which was too much pressure for Federer to deal with. 

Still, there was belief in the crowd that Federer could produce a fourth set to match his effort at the same point last year. It did not look promising when Djokovic broke him for 3-2, nor when Federer hit his third double fault to hand Djokovic break point in the fourth game, but he held.For the first time in the match, Stefan Edberg rose from his seat in Federer’s box to chivvy him through a crisis but Djokovic’s serve was holding up well – even with a fan’s loud interruption before his serve at 40-15 and 4-3. He held with a quite startling second serve and appeared to remonstrate with the culprit.

Federer served to stay in the match, accepting a late call against him for 0-30 – as well as the kind intervention of the net that sent Djokovic’s backhand wide. But the world No1 absolutely nailed a return for two championship points and finished it with a cross-court forehand winner with his opponent standing helpless at the baseline.

It might have fallen a set short of the tremendous 2014 battle, but this was still a fitting conclusion to a tournament of many surprises and a lot of familiar moments. Djokovic takes his majors to nine; Federer remains parked on 17. But there is no guarantee that those numbers will remain separated by that margin.

From:The guardian