Wimbledon history was made as Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer battled it out on Wimbledon’s centre court in an epic near five hour match that lasted until sundown. The best man won. Rafael Nadal thrashed Roger Federer 6-4, 6-4, 6-7, 6-7, 9-7 and killed his dreams to become the first man since the 1880s to win six consecutive Wimbledon championships.
Heavy downpour sent Nadal and Federer running for cover twice during the match. The energy from onlookers in the stands was high and intense. Everyone was stunned, realizing that they were witnessing an historic Wimbledon moment and perhaps the best match ever played at centre court.
Onlookers were literally at the edge of their seats. In the third set Nadal slipped and appeared to hurt his right knee. Near the end of the match Federer hit a forehand into the net and Nadal was on his back. But Nadal had the ferocious tenaciousness and power to beat out Federer in the end. Only last month Nadal vanquished over Federer in straight sets in the French Open final last month. We may well see Federer giving up his world number one position to Nadal.
A victorious Nadal embraced his family before walking over the commentary box roof to shake hands with the Spanish crown prince and his wife. Nadal was humble in his victory: "Roger is always fighting. He's still the number one, still the best, still five times champion here - I've just won one. It's very tough to play Roger. He is excellent when he wins and when he loses." One can see why millions of fans are in love with Nadal.
Nadal’s Wimbledon win gave Spain its second major sporting victory in eight days. The Spain footballers had just won Euro 2008. Nadal became the first Spaniard in 42 years to win the Wimbledon men's title, thus ending Federer's run of 41 unbeaten matches at the All England club, where he last lost in 2002.
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