• Roger Federer defeats Juan Martin del Potro in longest-ever Olympic tennis match

    Adrees Latif / Reuters

    Switzerland's Roger Federer rests on the net after winning his men's singles tennis semi-final match against Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro (L) at the All England Lawn Tennis Club during the London 2012 Olympic Games, on Aug. 3.

    Clive Brunskill / Getty Images

    Roger Federer of Switzerland celebrates his 4-6, 7-6, 19-17 win over Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina in the Semifinal of Men's Singles Tennis on Day 7 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at Wimbledon on Aug. 3, in London, England.

    Martin Bernetti / AFP - Getty Images

    Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro returns the ball during his men's singles semifinal round match against Switzerland's Roger Federer during the 2012 London Olympic Games at the All England Tennis Club in Wimbledon, southwest London, on Aug. 3.

    Stefan Wermuth / Reuters

    Switzerland's Roger Federer wipes his forehead during his men's singles tennis semi-final match against Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro at the All England Lawn Tennis Club during the London 2012 Olympic Games, on Aug. 3.

    AP reports -- Roger Federer clinched the first singles medal of his career Friday in an Olympic marathon, winning 19-17 in the final set against Juan Martin del Potro.

    The semifinal match lasted 4 hours, 26 minutes, and Federer rallied to win 3-6, 7-6 (5), 19-17. He converted only two of 13 break-point chances, the second coming in the next-to-last game.

    With the comeback victory, four-time Olympian Federer is assured of at least a silver. On Sunday he'll play in the final against the winner of the second semifinal between No. 2-seeded Novak Djokovic of Serbia and No. 3 Andy Murray of Britain.

    Continue reading on NBCOlympics.com.

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    Andy Rain / EPA

    Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina reacts during his men's semi final match against Roger Federer of Switzerland during the London 2012 Olympic Games Tennis competition in Wimbledon, Greater London, Britain, on Aug. 3.

    Andy Rain / EPA

    Roger Federer of Switzerland at the net with Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina whom he defeated 19-17 in the final set of their semi final match during the London 2012 Olympic Games Tennis competition in Wimbledon, Greater London, Britain, on Aug. 3.

    Slideshow: Olympic Emotional Moments

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  • Ouch! Racket feels the bite of a lost match

    Hassan Ammar / AP

    Feliciano Lopez of Spain reacts after he lost a point against Roger Federer of Switzerland during the Emirates Dubai ATP Tennis Championships in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on Feb. 29.

    Marwan Naamani / AFP - Getty Images

    Swiss tennis champion Roger Federer smiles to the crowd after beating Spain's Feliciano Lopez during their ATP Dubai Open tennis match in the Gulf emirate on Feb. 29.

    DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Roger Federer defeated Feliciano Lopez of Spain 7-5, 6-3 on Wednesday to reach the quarterfinals of the Dubai Championships.

    Federer broke the 15th-ranked Lopez in the final game to end a tight opening set. The second set was more routine, breaking the Spaniard to lead 5-3 and closing out the match with a volley winner from the net.

    -- Associated Press

  • Peter Klaunzer / EPA

    Swiss Davis Cup tennis players Roger Federer, left and Stephane Bohli, right, practice in the Postfinance Arena in Bern, Switzerland, Wednesday, July 6, 2011. Switzerland faces Portugal in the BNP Paribas Europe/Africa Zone Group I second round on July 8-10.

    When tennis looks like volleyball

    By Phaedra Singelis, NBC News

    I don't know much about tennis, but this looks like someone is cheating.

  • Nadal defeats Federer to capture record-tying sixth French Open title

    Thierry Roge / Reuters

    Rafael Nadal of Spain returns the ball to Roger Federer of Switzerland during their men's final at the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris June 5.

     Rafael Nadal won in four sets to tie Bjorn Borg's record: 7-5, 7-6 (3), 5-7, 6-1, and you can read more about the match here.

  • Ian Langsdon / EPA

    Roger Federer of Switzerland at the net with Novak Djokovic of Serbia whom he defeated in their semi final match for the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, June 3.

    Federer stops Djokovic's win streak at 43

    By Rich Shulman

    It's great to see some real sportsmanship these days. I was looking for the great celebration shot, like the one of Nadal earlier today, but I think Federer was too tired to show much emotion. As AP reported:

    On Sunday, Nadal will try to beat Federer for the sixth time in eight Grand Slam finals.

    "Beating Novak today was maybe a good birthday gift for him because he lost his four previous matches against Novak," Federer said of Nadal, who turned 25 on Friday. "I'm going to play against Nadal, my main rival, in another Grand Slam final. We live for these moments."

  • Alessandro Bianchi / Reuters

    A supporter of Roger Federer holds a Swiss national flag during his match against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France at the Rome Masters tennis tournament May 11.

    Roger Federer defeats Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in Rome Masters

    By Rich Shulman

    Strongly backlit situations usually mean big problems for photographers. Alessandro Bianchi made the most of the lighting with this subtle, simple image.

  • Fabrice Coffrini / AFP - Getty Images

    Switzerland's Roger Federer serves to Spain's Rafael Nadal during a charity tennis game on Dec. 21, 2010 in Zurich. "The Match for Africa" is organized to raise money for the Roger Federer Foundation which supports sporting activities for underprivileged children in Africa and in Switzerland.

    Federer vs. Nadal: "The Match for Africa" tennis exhibition in Zurich

    By Elena Grothe

    I thought of the lunar eclipse when I saw this.