Nadal finally beats Federer on grass

Howard Fendrich - Associated Press

WIMBLEDON, England — Rafael Nadal, grass stains on his white shirt and a Spanish flag tucked under his arm, scampered through the Centre Court stands to celebrate his first Wimbledon title with hugs and handshakes.

Roger Federer sat in his changeover chair, protected from the night's chill by his custom-made cream cardigan with the gold ”RF“ on the chest. Alone with his thoughts, alone with the knowledge that he had come so close to becoming the first man since the 1880s to win a sixth consecutive championship at the All England Club.

Men with French Open and Wimbledon titles in same season:
2008 — Rafael Nadal
1980 — Bjorn Borg
1979 — Bjorn Borg
1978 — Bjorn Borg
1969 — x-Rod Laver
1962 — x-Rod Laver
1956 — Lew Hoad
1955 — Tony Trabert
1950 — Budge Patty
1938 — x-Don Budge
1935 — Fred Perry
1933 — Jack Crawford
1925 — Rene Lacoste
x-also won Australian Open and U.S. Open that year
Streak mystique
Sunday's loss ended Roger Federer's grass-court winning streak. The top grass-court streaks since the start of the Open era (1968):
65 — Roger Federer, Halle 2003-Wimbledon 2008
41 — Bjorn Borg, Wimbledon 1976-Wimbledon 1981
23 — John McEnroe, Brisbane 1980-Queen's 1982
23 — Pete Sampras, Wimbledon 1994-Wimbledon 1996
23 — Pete Sampras, Wimbledon 1998-Queen's 2000
22 — Jimmy Connors, Queen's 1982-Wimbledon 1983

Two points from victory, the No. 1-ranked Federer couldn't pull it out, instead succumbing to No. 2 Nadal 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-7 (8), 9-7 Sunday night in a 4-hour, 48-minute test of wills that was the longest men's finals in Wimbledon history — and quite possibly the greatest. Even Nadal felt sympathy for Federer.

”I am very happy for me,“ Nadal said, ”but sorry for him, because he deserved this title, too.“

Through rain, wind and descending darkness, the two greatest players of their generation swapped spectacular shots, until, against a slate sky, Nadal earned the right to fling his racket aside and collapse on his back, champion of the All England Club at last.

”Is impossible to explain what I felt in that moment, no?“ Nadal said after accepting the golden trophy that has belonged to Federer since 2003.

The first man since Bjorn Borg in 1980 to win Wimbledon and the French Open in the same year, Nadal stopped Federer's streaks of 40 victories in a row at the All England Club, and a record 65 in a row on grass, thereby stamping his supremacy in their rivalry.

”Probably my hardest loss, by far,“ Federer said. ”I mean, it's not much harder than this right now.“

No man since 1927 had come back to win a final match at Wimbledon after losing the first two sets, and none had overcome a match point to seize victory since 1948.

But Federer hadn't lost a match on grass since 2002, and he hadn't lost a set during this tournament before Sunday. He also hadn't faced anyone nearly as talented and indefatigable as Nadal.

”Look, Rafa's a deserving champion,“ Federer said. ”He just played fantastically.“

Indeed he did, earning Spain its first Wimbledon men's title since Manolo Santana won in 1966.

Nadal managed to regroup after blowing a two-set lead, managed to recover after wasting two match points in the fourth-set tiebreaker, managed to hold steady when Federer needed two points to end the match while ahead 5-4 in the fifth.

He earned his fifth Grand Slam title, but first away from the French Open, by showing fortitude on his serve, saving 12 of 13 break points. He did it by breaking serve four times — twice as many times as Federer lost serve in his previous six matches combined. And Nadal did it by being better from the baseline, winning 24 of 38 points that lasted 10 or more strokes, according to an unofficial AP tally.

”He was rock-solid, the way we know him,“ said Federer, who hit 25 aces. ”He's definitely improved his game.“

Borg and Santana watched from the front row of the Royal Box at Centre Court, which next year will have a retractable roof. Perhaps Mother Nature wanted one last chance to leave her mark, delaying Sunday's start by 35 minutes with rain. Showers again caused a delay of 1 hour, 21 minutes late in the third set, then another of 30 minutes at 2-2, deuce, in the fifth set.

When action resumed at 8:23 p.m., it was tough to see, and the players traded service holds until 7-7. That's where Nadal finally broke through, as Federer's forehand really began to break down. A forehand into the net gave Nadal his fourth break point, and a long forehand ended the game — the first break of serve by either man since the second set.It was their sixth Grand Slam final, already more than between any other pair of men in the 40-year Open era, and there could be several to follow. Federer is 26, Nadal 22.

Federer made clear afterward he was not pleased that play continued despite the low visibility at the end.

”It's rough on me now, obviously, you know, to lose the biggest tournament in the world over maybe a bit of light,“ he said.

Said Nadal: ”In the last game, I didn't see nothing.“

Both players figured that if Federer had broken back to 8-8 in the fifth, play would have been suspended until Monday because of darkness.

”It would have been brutal,“ Federer said.

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