Nadal hails his special win over 'best player in history'

RAFAEL NADAL is the new King of Wimbledon and the All England Club's latest Prince of Darkness.

As gloom enveloped centre court, Nadal ended the six-year reign of Roger Federer with a performance that will live long in the memory.

They'll be showing this classic during Wimbledon rain delays for years to come, Nadal emerging victorious 6-4, 6-4, 6-7, 6-7, 9-7 in a game that concluded at 9.16pm – the longest men's singles final ever.

Both men had stood on the brink of history. Federer was seeking to become the first man since 1889 to win six consecutive titles, while Nadal was looking to complete a French Open/Wimbledon double for the first time since Bjorn Borg in 1980.

Nadal spurned two championship points to wrap this match up in the fourth set, but he finally took advantage in fast-fading light.

He then paid tribute to Federer, whose battling role in this unforgettable final that was as good as it gets, should not be overlooked.

"I can't describe my feelings – it's just impossible," said Nadal. "I'm so happy. It's my favourite tournament, it's the most special court in the world and it's just a dream to win here.

"Roger is the best player in history and that makes it much more special. He's such a special player, such a fighter and he made it so hard for me.

"He's still the number one, he's still the best because he has won five titles here, I only have one."

Federer, who had won 65 consecutive matches on grass before this final, looked overcome by the defeat, which follows hot on the heels of his straight sets loss to Nadal in last month's French Open final.

However, he vowed to be back – as he bids to equal the record seven Wimbledon titles won by American Pete Sampras.

"Rafa is a deserving champion - he's a very special player," he said. "The conditions didn't make it easy, but you can't blame that.

"It has been a joy to play here again and I'll be back.

"This is such a special tournament for me. The record wasn't the important thing today – I just wanted to win the match.

"I still think I can be competitive here for many more years, although Rafa is not going to make it easy for me. This is my hardest ever loss.

Nadal took the first two sets in a game punctuated with two rain delays. Federer battled back to force a decider with two tie-break victories. He saved two Championship points in a pulsating fourth set as both players reached new levels and repeatedly had centre court on its feet, screaming for more.

The final set went with serve until the 15th game when, in near darkness, Nadal broke and then closed out the match to leave Federer stunned.

He has spent 231 weeks as world number one, a position he is likely to hang on to when the ATP Tour announce their new ranking list later today.

But this has clearly been Nadal's season with victories in two of the first three Grand Slam tournaments.

In the other, Federer was beaten by the young Serb Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals.

Though Federer came into 2008 hoping to match Pete Sampras's career record of 14 Grand Slam singles titles, he is still holding at 12, with his only tournament victories this year coming in minor tour events in Estoril, Portugal and Halle, Germany.

While this final didn't match the emotional drama of Goran Ivanisevic's win over Pat Rafter seven years ago, for sheer quality of tennis it goes straight to the top of the charts.

John McEnroe, whose 1980 final against Borg often tops the list of classic finals, hailed the match as the "greatest ever played". But that was little consolation to a crestfallen Federer.

"It's not up to us to decide how great the final was – it's up to the fans and media to debate," he added. "I'm happy we put in a great effort. It was a fair battle, which was tough with the rain delays. You know, some great points.

"I just think we both played tough until the very end.

"Unfortunately in tennis, there has to be winners and losers. There are no draws."

"With the fading light, the victory became even more special, similar to when Pete won his seventh Wimbledon title against Pat Rafter.

Federer added: "That looked incredible.

"I wish obviously it was me with the trophy, but that's the way it is now."

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