Blast from the past: Rafael Nadal vs. Roger Federer, Wimbledon 2008 final
Rafael Nadal beat Roger Federer in what could easily be termed as the greatest tennis match ever played, that brought the best out of both the players. It was the longest Wimbledon men’s single final ever which lasted for 4 hours and 48 minutes, and despite being the longest, there were moments of breathtaking brilliance from both players - the challenger, Rafael and from the champion, Roger Federer.
“It’s impossible to describe. I’m just very happy. It’s unbelievable for me to have the title here at Wimbledon,” exclaimed the 22-year-old Nadal after the match.
Rafael Nadal managed to break Federer’s serve in the first two sets and won them convincingly at 6-4, 6-4. Having won the first two sets, it seemed as if Nadal was ready to win the Wimbledon final in straight sets, but one should not forget that he was competing against the world number 1 Roger Federer who had won five consecutive Wimbledon tournaments, with his first win at Wimbledon coming against legendary player Pete Sampras. It should also be noted that Roger Federer in the past has come back from 2-0 down on three occasions to win the finals. Hence, it came as no surprise, when in the third set, Nadal could not successfully break Federer’s serve and the score came down to 6-6 forcing a tie breaker. Roger Federer won the tie breaker convincingly at 5-7.
After clawing his way back into the game, the world number 1 made things increasingly difficult for the world number 2 Rafael Nadal, but this seemed to have no effect on Rafael Nadal as he fought back with full force and did not allow Federer to break his serve at any point. He seemed well poised to win the Wimbledon in the fourth set, having forced a tie breaker and then going up 5-2 against the champion, requiring only two more points to win the championship with him serving. However Rafa failed to convert the first serve into a point with a double fault, bringing Federer up 5-3. On the next serve, Federer forced Nadal to put a backhand into the net and gained a point to close in on the challenger at 5-4. Federer did not let the advantage go to waste, and with a brilliant forehand and an ace, climbed up to 5-6. It seemed as if luck was not taking sides with Rafael as another occasion to take away the championship seemed to have slipped away from him. Federer took the 4th set 7-6, (8-10).
Despite going through a mental setback and witnessing the world number one making a comeback from 2-0 down to level 2-2, Rafael’s raw force and motivation was unrelenting. Once again in the final set, the two players were level at 6-6 and the game continued. As there was no tie breaker in the final set, they went up 7-7 with both the players not succeeding in breaking the others serve. As Federer served at 7-7, with sweat oozing down his forehead, one could only try to fathom what must have been going through the champions mind. He knew that this was it, as he hurled the ball into the air, and his racquet raced towards it to launch it like a bullet at the Spanish bull.
Rafael fought like a true matador, and punched an acutely angled backhand cross court which was simply unplayable, giving Nadal two break points. Federer saved the break points, forcing a deuce but Nadal was back at him with another wicked forehand. The Champion was resolute and banged down ace number 25 in an attempt to deny the Spaniard of breaking Federer’s serve. However, on this one day, there was no fairy godmother to save the Swiss against the awesome wrath of the Spaniard as he finally broke Federer’s serve, to serve for the title at 7-8.
For the first time in the match, Nadal decided to serve and volley in the final set, winning the first as he forced Federer wide on the second, hurling another volley like a cannonball to bag the next point as well. However the Champion was firm and did not let Nadal taste the joy of victory. He rallied against him to force Rafa to put a volley long. Federer launched another ball against his opponent but did not find the right trajectory for the ball as it hurled into the trams giving Nadal a third championship point.
Nadal then got the first serve in, but the Swiss returned a forehand to which Nadal could only get a racquet. Finally after a four and half hour grueling wait, Nadal hit an ace, and fell flat on his back in a mixture of “unbridled joy and sheer exhaustion” as tears of joy filled his eyes. The Spaniard had done it. He became the first Spaniard since 1966, after Manuel Santana to win the men’s single title at Wimbledon. He also became the first man after Bjorn Borg in 1980 to have won back-to-back French Open and Wimbledon titles. Nadal has now completed the career grand slam in 2010 after winning three major grand slams in a single year. He has become the first man since Laver in 1969 to win the French open, the Wimbledon and the US open – all in a single year.
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