Federer loses Wimbledon thriller against Nadal

Keystone

Switzerland's world number one Roger Federer lost to Spain's Rafael Nadal in Sunday's epic final of the Wimbledon tennis tournament in London.

Aiming for six consecutive victories at the All England Club, the Swiss “tactician” Federer lost to “muscle man” Nadal in one of the most exciting finals in years.

Nadal won 6-4, 6-4, 6-7, 6-7 and 9-7 against Federer, who failed in his bid to reach a record modern era sixth Wimbledon title in a row.

Nadal, the second seed, was the first Spaniard to win the Wimbledon title since Manuel Santana in 1966.

The 26-year-old Swiss world number one was unable to take revenge for his biggest defeat against Nadal in this year’s French Open when he won only four games in the final.

Nadal held off a stirring comeback by Federer from two sets down to prevail to become the first man to win the French Open and Wimbledon in the same year since Björn Borg in 1980s.

The rain-delayed and windy contest ended in near darkness after four hours and 48 minutes of play – the longest men’s final in Wimbledon history – when Federer slapped a forehand into the net on Nadal’s fourth match point and second of the game.

Exhilaration

Nadal fell onto his back in exhilaration at the baseline and, after congratulating Federer, climbed into the players’ box to embrace his entourage.

With tears in his eyes, he grabbed a Spanish flag and went over to the edge of the Royal Box to shake hands with Prince Felipe and Princess Letizia of Spain.

Federer, who converted only one of 13 break points in the match, fell short in his bid to set two historic landmarks: he failed to surpass Borg by winning a sixth consecutive Wimbledon title or match Willie Renshaw’s all-time record of six in a row from 1881-86.

Observers said Federer took defeat like a true champion.

“I tried everything. Rafa is a deserving champion, he just played fantastic.

“It’s been a joy to play here again. It’s a pity I couldn’t win it but I’ll be back next year,” he said.

Nadal won his fifth Grand Slam title, adding to his four consecutive French Open championships. Federer, meanwhile, remains two shy of Pete Sampras’ record of 14 Grand Slam wins.

Watching it all from the front row of the Royal Box was the silver-haired Borg, who won 41 straight Wimbledon matches during his 1976-80 title runs.

swissinfo with agencies

Men’s route to Wimbledon

Men’s route to the singles final

1) Roger Federer (Switzerland)

Round 1: beat Dominik Hrbaty (Slovakia) 6-3 6-2 6-2
Round 2: beat Robin Soderling (Sweden) 6-3 6-4 7-6
Round 3: beat Marc Gicquel (France) 6-3 6-3 6-1
Round 4: beat Lleyton Hewitt (Australia) 7-6 6-2 6-4
QF: beat Mario Ancic (Croatia) 6-1 7-5 6-4
SF: beat Marat Safin (Russia) 6-3 7-6 6-4

2) Rafael Nadal (Spain)

Round 1: beat Andreas Beck (Germany) 6-4 6-4 7-6
Round 2: beat Ernests Gulbis (Latvia) 5-7 6-2 7-6 6-3
Round 3: beat Nicolas Kiefer (Germany) 7-6 6-2 6-3
Round 4: beat Mikhail Youzhny (Russia) 6-3 6-3 6-1
QF: beat Andy Murray (Britain) 6-3 6-2 6-4
SF: beat Rainer Schüttler (Germany) 6-1 7-6 6-4