The Swiss maestro proved he was more than ready to add to his seven SW19 and 17 grand slam titles with a 7-5 7-5 6-4 victory that was as close to perfection as he as ever achieved.
The fact he did it three years after his last major triumph and less than a month before his 34th birthday made the feat all the more remarkable.
“It’s definitely one of the best matches I’ve played in my career,” Federer said after setting up a repeat of last year’s final against defending champion Novak Djokovic.
The foundation of Federer’s victory was a serve that had only been broken once en route to the semi-finals, and that after a record run of 116 successive holds.
“It was one of my best serving days of my career, for sure,” he added after delivering a masterclass in which he faced just one break point – in the opening game.
A despondent Murray, widely regarded as one of the best returners of all time, was in no mood to disagree.
“I don’t know if he’s close to his peak,” he said. “But that’s definitely the best he served against me.”
The theme of Murray’s post-mortem was one of powerlessness against the man who beat him in the 2012 final playing nowhere near as well as on Friday. “He clearly deserved to win the match,” the 2013 champion said. “He had more opportunities than me.
“It’s frustrating, when you’re out there because I couldn’t get a racquet on a lot of the returns. Even when I was, I wasn’t getting enough depth on the returns to make it tough for him.
“But, at times, I played some very good tennis. I served well. Best I probably served in the tournament myself.” He added: “I don’t know if it’s the best I’ve played in a loss or not. It’s tough to know just now. But I definitely don’t feel like I played a bad match.”
Murray was playing catch-up from the opening game, with his bid to halt Federer’s momentum not helped by a Centre Court crowd which only really became partisan during an epic 10th game of the second set.
The Scot refused to criticise them, insisting he needed to give them more to shout about.
“I felt like the crowd were getting pretty pumped at the end of the second set,” he said. “Anytime I fist-pumped in their direction, they responded very well. But he’s earned all of the support that he gets everywhere around the world. And, also, when you don’t have any break points or opportunities, really it’s tough to get the crowd involved.”
The difference between the crowd for Murray and that for fellow Briton Heather Watson in her defeat against Serena Williams could hardly have been more pronounced.
Federer was thrilled, saying: “Of course, I appreciate that. It definitely also gave me a lift to see that the crowd was actually evenly split.”
He added: “It’s an amazing feeling when you come back from the match and everybody’s so happy for you. Even on the inside of the Royal Box when I was walking back, there was applause all the way to the locker room, something I don’t remember really having, except maybe on one of the wins I’ve had here.”
Even had Federer been jeered throughout, it is difficult to see how Murray would have survived a performance so sublime it prompted questions about whether he had just lost to the greatest sportsman who has ever lived.
Murray said: “[Footballer Lionel] Messi, people love the way he plays the game. He makes it look easy. It stands out more, too. It’s tough to say if he’s [Federer] the best of all time. Serena’s got a fair shout at it.”
A modest Federer said: “The tennis is bigger than anybody. We’ll have future Wimbledon champions, future world number ones. It’s going to be even greater in 50 years’ time, 100 years’ time.” He added with a smile: “It’s a great game to play, I tell you.”
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