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Spain's Rafael Nadal falls to the ground after defeating Roger Federer to win the Men's
Singles final on the Centre Court at Wimbledon, Sunday, July 6, 2008. (AP)
Spain's Rafael Nadal falls to the ground after defeating Roger Federer to win the Men's
Singles final on the Centre Court at Wimbledon, Sunday, July 6, 2008. (AP)
Nadal Unseats Wimbledon’s King
by
Liz Colville
In Wimbledon’s longest-ever singles final, No. 2 Rafael Nadal beat top-ranked Roger Federer, who had won the tournament five years in a row.
30-Second Summary
Nadal is only the second Spaniard to win Wimbledon after Manuel Santana’s 1966 victory, and the first player since Bjorn Borg to win the French Open and Wimbledon in the same year. He won the title by playing one of his typical marathon matches, a nearly five-hour battle that is already being called an all-time classic.
Rain delays stretched out the extremely close match twice before the final set led Nadal to victory in near darkness at 9:15 p.m. local time. Winning the first two sets and dropping the second two, Nadal faced two tie breaks in the third and fourth sets before closing out the fifth set 9-7.
Leading up to the final, Nadal suggested in his blog for the Times of London that the good memories from last year would spur him to victory this time around; he has lost to Federer in the past two finals. “I didn’t win last year, I was close, but I still remember the good things,” he wrote on July 3.
In characteristic fashion, Nadal ended the match lying face up on the ground in ecstatic disbelief. Responding to Federer’s error, a short return of Nadal’s serve, Nadal lay “flat on his back with camera flashes illuminating his drained and delighted face,” writes Christopher Clarey in the New York Times.
Rain delays stretched out the extremely close match twice before the final set led Nadal to victory in near darkness at 9:15 p.m. local time. Winning the first two sets and dropping the second two, Nadal faced two tie breaks in the third and fourth sets before closing out the fifth set 9-7.
Leading up to the final, Nadal suggested in his blog for the Times of London that the good memories from last year would spur him to victory this time around; he has lost to Federer in the past two finals. “I didn’t win last year, I was close, but I still remember the good things,” he wrote on July 3.
In characteristic fashion, Nadal ended the match lying face up on the ground in ecstatic disbelief. Responding to Federer’s error, a short return of Nadal’s serve, Nadal lay “flat on his back with camera flashes illuminating his drained and delighted face,” writes Christopher Clarey in the New York Times.
Headline Link: ‘Nadal hails “dream” Wimbledon win’
Following his victory Nadal told the press, “For me, it was the most emotional match I ever played in, probably the best,” noting that the darkness was somewhat of an obstacle in the final minutes of play. “[W]hen I was preparing to serve at 8-7, I said ‘I can't believe it, I can’t see anything.’”
Source: BBC Sport
Background: Nadal sets himself up for a record
Nadal was arguably on a roll after his defeat of Federer at Roland Garros in May, where he won handily in three sets. It was his fourth consecutive French Open title and brought Federer’s overall championship record against him to 11-6. Federer’s worst season since 2001, following a winter bout of mononucleosis, led many to speculate that Nadal might finally win Wimbledon.
Source: findingDulcinea
Citing “luck” as the guiding force in his victory against Nadal in 2007’s Wimbledon final, Federer focused on the record he had gained, matching Bjorn Borg’s five-in-a-row Wimbledon run. Notably, Nadal had competed in a slew of four- and five-set matches on his path to the final, which was also a five-setter and is considered one of the best matches of all time.
Source: The Guardian
Blogging throughout the Wimbledon tournament for the Times of London, Nadal reflects on numerous topics, including being last year’s runner up; his coach and uncle Toni’s advice; and playing against Andy Murray, the newest British tennis hopeful, in front of a famously patriotic British crowd.
Source: The Times of London
Opinion & Analysis: Approaching Federer’s greatness
The 2007 Wimbledon final, which saw Federer win his fifth consecutive Wimbledon in a victory over Nadal, had commentators wondering what Nadal’s next step should be. Proving his dominance on clay, Nadal nonetheless had not quite conquered the hard-court circuit, where Federer has won a combined seven Grand Slam events. Steve Bierley wrote in the Guardian that Nadal “must learn to love the madness that is the US Open” if he wants to become world No. 1. After Sunday’s Wimbledon, Federer is still top-ranked.
Source: The Guardian
Although Nadal’s victory did end Federer’s massive dominance of the grass-court tournament, which he has won consecutively since 2002, Christopher Clarey emphasized that the match elevated the sport even further than the pair’s previous competitions. Together they “produced so much brilliant tennis under pressure that it seemed the most normal thing in the world that Federer smacked yet another ace to get out of trouble or that Nadal hunted down yet another sharply angled ground stroke and ripped an off-balance passing shot for a winner.”
Source: The New York Times
Key Players: The best in men’s tennis
Roger Federer (1981–)
Roger Federer was born in Basel, Switzerland, and began playing tennis at age four. His idols growing up were Boris Becker and Pete Sampras. Federer turned pro in 1998 and has since earned nearly $40 million in prize money and won 54 singles titles. He has won the U.S. Open four times, the Australian Open three times, and Wimbledon five times. He plays right-handed and is currently No. 1 in the world.
Source: Tennis X
Rafael Nadal (1986–)
Rafael Nadal was born in Majorca, Spain, and took up tennis at the age of four, coached by his uncle, Toni Nadal. Nadal has won 27 singles titles and has earned more than $16 million in prize money. He was the ATP’s Newcomer of the Year in 2003 and Most Improved Player in 2005. He plays left-handed and is currently No. 2 in the world.
Source: ATP Tennis
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