Roger Federer needed 16 games in the fifth and deciding set to win his 15th major tournament.

Such a poetically appropriate detail helps explain how a legendary athlete became even more of an icon on Sunday evening at Wimbledon, and yet, in the aftermath of another classic gentlemen’s singles final at the Big W, that numerical twist can’t even begin to convey the full measure of the 4-hour, 17-minute epic that unfolded on the world’s most famous tennis court.

In a narrowly-confined sense, Federer merely did what nearly everyone expected him to do against Andy Roddick: Win, and claim sole possession of the record for singles titles at major championships, leaving Pete Sampras–a late-arriving attendee in the Royal Box–alone in second place. Yet, a more expansive view of Sunday’s scintillating showstopper can’t adequately contain all the narratives and emotions that poured forth from another fabulous final at SW19.

Federer might have been the official winner in a 5-7, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5), 3-6, 16-14 marathon against Roddick, but the aftermath of the match was dominated not so much by celebrations of the Swiss’s long-awaited achievement as it was by a recognition of the American underdog’s mighty effort… and overwhelming heartbreak.

Federer will not find it a problem to bathe in another ocean of accolades, congratulations, British pounds (850,000 of them), and signs around the All-England Club recognizing his 2009 victory at The Championships. Pundits and fans have found it very easy to praise the 27-year-old giant who just elevated his status to an even greater degree in the annals of men’s tennis. As he prepares to welcome his first child into the world with wife Mirka this summer, Roger will be well Fed and comforted in many more ways than one.

The man who made this moment was Roddick, a tireless and always-sincere competitor who played the best match of his life–even better than against Andy Murray in Friday’s semifinals–yet still lost. The American’s fate is oh-so-similar to what Elena Dementieva experienced in her Thursday loss to Serena Williams in the ladies’ singles semis: A max-out performance of epic proportions was somehow, someway, not rewarded with a breakthrough result. Roddick does have a major to his credit (the 2003 U.S. Open), but the 26-year-old who has long hungered for Wimbledon will improbably have to wait another year for his day in the sunshine of victory.

It can’t be said any more plainly than this: Roddick played like a Wimbledon champion on Sunday. The No. 6 seed outplayed the second-seeded Federer, making fewer unforced errors (33 to 38) while–in an interesting case of role reversal–providing a steadier brand of backcourt play and a generally superior passing shot. Federer typically bosses Roddick around the court–that’s how the Swiss accumulated an 18-2 head-to-head record in 20 prior meetings–but in this match, Roddick’s retooled game, molded into stern and steely stuff by new coach Larry Stefanki, gave Federer fewer looks at easy winners. Roddick’s massively improved two-handed backhand attained considerably greater depth, while the American’s forehand drove through the court and repeatedly surprised the Swiss. No longer pushing the ball as he had in past encounters with Fed, Roddick varied his angle of attack to get a decorated champion off balance behind the baseline.

How, then, did Roddick not manage to translate his excellence into a win against a more frail form of Federer, who didn’t possess his customary zing on his groundstrokes?

By losing a handful of very precious points, that’s how.

Grass-court tennis, more than the clay or hardcourt forms of the sport, demands an ability to win the small but significant points that matter more than most. The uneven bounces created by the organic playing surface, plus the low, skidding action of the ball as it rubs off on the blades of grass, simply make it that much more difficult to break serve on the green stuff. This year, the lawns of Wimbledon played quicker than they had in prior years, and as a result, more matches acquired the shape and texture of a traditional grass-court match: namely, a serve-fest defined by tiebreakers and break-point conversions in which chances for glory come and go very quickly.

Roddick did break Federer to win the first and fourth sets, but the American might have been lifting his first Wimbledon trophy had he been able to convert just one point in the second set.

It’s hard to think of a bigger tiebreak than a second-set tiebreak; either the leader in the match takes a two-set lead, or the trailer in the match evens the score at a set apiece. Roddick, having taken the opening stanza, roared to a 6-2 lead in the second-set tiebreak before Federer–with a flick backhand on Roddick’s serve and then two powerful serves of his own–erased three set points in succession. Roddick would have preferred to own two serves at 6-3 in that tiebreak, but after Fed held his two-serve sequence to get to 6-5, Roddick still enjoyed a position he could only have dreamed about before Sunday’s match began: One serve, in his hands, on his racket, for a two-set lead against a five-time Wimbledon champion. Much as hard-serving Ivo Karlovic rolled to the quarterfinals at this event by getting into tiebreaks and then laying down the hammer with his serve, Roddick similarly had Federer on the ropes. One ace or service winner, and the loser of the 2004 and 2005 finals to Federer would gain sweet revenge in 2009.

Oh, but Roddick couldn’t deliver the thumper he so badly needed, and then–after playing a pretty good point off a second ball–the underdog, for the only time in the match, cracked under pressure. He had a high backhand volley to the open court, the second set waiting to be won, but the shot sailed wide. A perfect opportunity–the chance of a lifetime–had gone by the boards for the man who wanted Wimbledon so desperately.

To the surprise of absolutely no one, Federer–saver of four set points in a row–breathed easier once he climbed to 6-all in the tiebreak. The Swiss used a passing shot and a steady hand from the backcourt to claim the next two points and even the match in the process. These two skilled stick-wielders fashioned a fifth set for the ages, but if Roddick had converted the 6-5 point in the second-set breaker, a packed Centre Court crowd might never have seen the special spectacle.

There were two other points–yes, just two of them; tennis is that cruel–Roddick failed to win on Sunday, but in this instance, the American could do precious little about the outcome. Whereas the 6-5 point in the second-set breaker was donated by a Roddick error, Federer prevented his feisty foe from having a say in the matter as the fifth set just kept continuing. At 8-all, Roddick’s backcourt game and passing shot arsenal created a 15-40 advantage and two break points that put the sixth seed on the verge of serving for the championship. Federer, though, displaying the composure of the champion he is, hammered an ace and then a serve-swinging volley combo to swat away the two break chances. In an ice-veins display oh-so-similar to the 2007 Wimbledon final against Rafael Nadal (Fed saved 15-40 at both 1-all and 2-all in the fifth set en route to victory over Rafa two years ago), Fed looked death in the eye and prevailed. So strong was Federer on serve that he never faced a break point in his other 14 (yes, that’s not a typo) fifth-set service games. Roddick wasn’t too shabby, either, allowing just two break points of his own in 15 service games. With both players shrugging off the occasional mis-hit or bad bounce, the final and deciding stanza carried on into its 30th game. But as shadows began to engulf Centre Court, the knowledge of his escape at 8-all had to lift Federer’s confidence.

That small but meaningful measure of additional belief would finally enter the foray with Roddick serving to stay in the match (for the 11th time, one should add) at 14-15.

Having played so well for so long, Roddick–due to losing three key points out of the 428 that were played up to that moment–still trailed on a day when his effort should have been sufficient to land him in the locker room as a gleeful Wimbledon champion. But because he couldn’t snare each and every opportunity that came his way, Roddick had to toe the service line to remain on court a little while longer.

But after 428 points, it would soon be clear that in the final eight points of the day, Roddick’s tank just ran out of fuel.

The American’s legs simply lost their juice in the 30th game of the longest fifth set in the history of any major championship. The longest Wimbledon final in terms of games played (77) finally ended because Roddick began to cough up the errors he had minimized for the previous four-plus hours. Big serves got Roddick out of a love-30 deficit and offered the American a game point at 40-30, but with his first serve unable to close the deal, a still-fresh Federer played percentage tennis and waited out Roddick long enough to draw shanked shots from the tiring man from Texas. When Federer got his first championship point–only his second break point of a marathon set–Roddick was not able to keep the ball in the court. A framed forehand sailed well beyond the playing surface, and Federer–despite operating at a level well below his best–had found the fortitude to gut out his sixth Wimbledon title, but more importantly, his 15th major crown.

This match–given the bewildering, beautiful, ballsy nature of its sprawling, sweeping fifth-set finale–did not deserve to have a loser, but competitive athletics inevitably must. Roger Federer won this Wimbledon title, but the cruel and heartless aspect of this titanic tennis tilt was that Andy Roddick, never better in his life, was still consigned to second place.

Federer was muted and modest in post-match celebrations and press conferences. That’s entirely appropriate given the heart–and heartbreak–which colored Andy Roddick’s performance on a golden day in England. It’s ironic that Federer’s march to “15″ became so subdued at the end, but a drained and dejected American athlete deserves to be paid such respect after another stomach-punch loss he frankly didn’t deserve.