Rafael Nadal - Getty Images

There’s a New King in London

July 7, 2008

It was a day for breaking records and halting streaks at the All England Club and at the end of it all, world No. 2 Rafael Nadal stood on Centre Court as the first Spanish player to claim the Wimbledon trophy in more than 40 years with a 6-4, 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-7(8) 9-7 win over Roger Federer.

It was the third straight year that Nadal was up against the Swiss No. 1 in the Wimbledon final. Federer has carried an aura of invincibility at this Grand Slam for nearly six years now reaching the final from 2003-2008 and capturing five straight titles. However, Nadal was close to super-human in his play on Sunday finally gaining the credibility he’s longed for by winning his first Grand Slam outside of the French Open.

"[I'm] just very happy because I played with very positive attitude all the time," said Nadal. [To] win here is unbelievable for me."

With this victory, Nadal became the first player since Bjorn Borg in 1980 to win the French Open and Wimbledon in the same year. He also stopped Federer’s all-time record 65-match win streak on grass, which included 40 straight wins at Wimbledon.

The match is being heralded as the best of all time. No one truly thought that the duo would be able to exceed the standard that they set with the five-set match they played in the 2007 final. However, the level of play and the grit and determination that both players exhibited was beyond anyone’s expectations.

It began almost too easily for Nadal who initially looked as if he was going to walk away with a straight sets win taking the first two 6-4, 6-4 and staying on serve in the third. But then the skies opened and Roger Federer got a much-needed rain delay. Historically, rain delays seem to work in Federer’s favour and he came back with a fire in his eyes to win the third set tiebreak. He then fought off two championship points in the fourth set tiebreak and was looking quite poised to make a massive comeback for his sixth straight title.

With the light quickly fading, and neither player showing any signs of relenting, the fifth set was truly one for the ages. After a second rain delay at 2-2, the men came back on court to commence their showdown. It appeared as if no one wanted the match to end, not the crowd, not the commentators and certainly not the players as both were fighting for their lives. It was not until 7-7 in the fifth set that Federer cracked to give Nadal the opportunity to serve for the championship. It was almost a foregone conclusion at that point as Nadal had only lost his serve once very early in the day. Federer looked defeated and a few short points later, he was.

“[It is] probably my hardest loss, by far,” said Federer. “I thought I played well. [But I] missed too many chances obviously in the first couple of sets. Rafa played well. I'm happy we lived up to the expectations. I'm happy the way I fought. That's all I could really do.”

The match was the longest in Wimbledon finals history at four hours and 48 minutes. It also set the record for the latest finish at 9:15 p.m. Nadal closed the gap on Federer in the rankings by over 500 points sitting only 545 points back of No. 1 now. With tons of tennis left to play this season, Nadal has officially made his mark and assumed his position as the heir apparent to the top spot in tennis.