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LONDON: Rafael Nadal dethroned five-time champion Roger Federer as
king of Wimbledon on Sunday with an epic 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (5/7), 6-7
(8/10), 9-7 win in one of the greatest Grand Slam finals of all
time.
The Spaniard, who had squandered two match
points in a nerve-shredding fourth set tie-breaker and a third in
the decider of the longest final in Wimbledon history, added a first
All England Club title to his four French Opens.
He also shattered Federer’s dreams of a
historic sixth successive Wimbledon trophy.
“It’s impossible to explain what I felt when
I won. I’m just very happy to win this title. I never thought I
could win but to do so is a dream,” said Nadal who had lost the
last two finals to Federer.
“I had match points but Roger is very tough. I
want to congratulate Roger because he is great for tennis, win or
lose.”
Federer admitted he had been beaten by the
better man on the day.
“I tried everything,” he said. “Rafa is a
deserving champion—he just played fantastic. It is a pity I
didn’t win but I will be back next year.”
Federer had his opportunities but could only
convert one of 13 break points while sending down 52 unforced errors
to the world number two’s 27.
Victory made the 22-year-old Nadal only the
third man to win the French Open and Wimbledon in the same season,
and the first since Bjorn Borg in 1980, while giving Spain its first
men’s champion here since Manolo Santana in 1966.
The win also ended Federer’s six-year,
65-match winning streak on grass.
At four hours and 48 minutes, it was the longest
final in Wimbledon history beating the 4:16 it took Jimmy Connors to
beat John McEnroe in 1982 and ended in murky Centre Caourt darkness
at 2116 local time (2016GMT).
Nadal shrugged off a rain-enforced 35-minute
delay to the start to break first to lead 2-1 with Federer
desperately chasing the Spaniard’s power-packed forehands.
The 22-year-old then fought off a break point in
the next game to back up his advantage, which stretched to 4-2 as
the Spaniard edged the world number one in some brutal exchanges in
tricky, gusty conditions on Centre Court.
Nadal unleashed a 96 mph forehand to claim the
opening set, the first set Federer had dropped in the 2008
tournament.
The 26-year-old Swiss star shook off his
inhibitions to sneak to a 3-0 lead in the second set before Nadal
battled back from 1-4 down to open up a two-set lead when Federer
netted a simple-looking backhand.
Nadal saved a break point in the fourth game of
the third set and four more in the sixth as the London skies and
Federer’s mood darkened.
The top seed saved three break points to lead
4-3 and was 5-4 ahead when heavy rain sent the players off court for
80 minutes.
On the resumption, a reborn Federer grabbed the
third set with an ace in a tense tiebreak before serve dominated the
fourth set leading to another tiebreak.
Nadal went to 5/2 in the breaker but the
champion stormed back to lead 6/5 and claim a set point, which Nadal
saved.
Incredibly, Federer then saved two match points
and grabbed another set point at 9/8 before leveling the final when
Nadal, stunned by his failing nerve, went long with a forehand.
At 2-2 in the final set, more rain caused a
30-minute suspension.
On their return, Nadal saved a break point in
the eighth game while Federer fought off two in the 11th and three
more in the 15th but cracked to give the Spaniard an 8-7 lead.
-- AFP
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