Nadal survived two rain breaks and an astonishing Federer fight-back to end the Swiss’s five-year reign as Wimbledon champion with a thrilling 6-4, 6-4, 6-7, 6-7, 9-7 victory.
While Nadal emulated the 1966 feat of fellow Spaniard Manuel Santana, Federer’s dreams of eclipsing Bjorn Borg and setting a modern-era record of six successive Wimbledon titles died after four hours and 48 minutes of heart-stopping action.
The 22-year-old collapsed on to his back the moment Federer buried a forehand into the net on Nadal’s fourth match point.
An utterly dejected Federer, though still world number one, could barely fathom his first major final defeat outside his three losses at Roland Garros.
With the Swiss now a month shy of turning 27, Sunday’s defeat would almost certainly have ended his dreams of emulating William Renshaw’s 1880s record of six Wimbledon titles in a row.
Twenty-seven years after a left-handed John McEnroe wrecked Borg’s hopes of landing six in a row, Federer’s dreams were also scuppered by another left hander.
The Spaniard bagged the first set and clawed back from 4-1 down to take the second.
It left Federer facing an uphill battle since the last time a man had come from two sets down to win a Wimbledon final was way back in 1927.
Nadal seemed to edge towards victory at 3-3 in the third set when Federer fell 0-40 down but he served his way out trouble.
After the first 81-minute rain delay Federer pounced in the third set tiebreak, clinching it 7-5 with a belting ace.
Federer’s survival instincts kicked in when he served at 4-5 and 5-6 in the fourth set to take the contest into a tiebreak. Nadal streaked to a 5-2 lead and with two serves at his disposal, it seemed Federer’s reign was over.
But the Spaniard showed a rare sign of nerves when he produced a double fault and followed it up with another error.
Nadal was able to earn a championship point at 7-6 only to see Federer erase it with a 204 kph service winner. Nadal carved out a second match point at 8-7 with a running forehand pass.
Pinned in the corner, Federer conjured an incredible backhand passing shot down the line to deny Nadal again.
Federer had the set in the bag two points later, taking the tiebreak 10-8, and with the tide turning in his favour, it looked as if he could become the first man since Bob Falkenburg in 1948 to win a Wimbledon final from match point down.
Proceedings were again disrupted by rain at 2-2 in the fifth set and upon resumption the duo kept up the intensity.
At 5-4 up in the fifth, the Swiss came within two points of victory but a relentless Nadal averted the danger and five games later he had the break that mattered, zooming in towards a famous victory after the longest men’s singles final at Wimbledon.—Reuters