It took a performance reminiscent of The Greatest for Rafael Nadal to win the greatest ever Wimbledon final last night and finally dethrone Roger Federer.

Having absorbed more punches than Muhammed Ali might have expected in a 15-rounder, the 22 year-old Spaniard kept bouncing back to finally subdue Roger Federer on the most dramatic night experienced at SW19's own theatre of dreams.

King of Spain: 2008 Wimbledon Men's Champion Rafael Nadal

They can put a roof on the Centre Court but can they ever cap the brilliance of a rivalry that drives each man to greater heights and so defies superlatives?

The heavens sent us this match and they stretched it to a span of nearly seven hours with rain delays puncutating a pulsating four hour 48 minute contest, the longest climax to a Wimbledon championship.

At 9.15 pm Nadal fell to the floor in ecstasy after a fourth match point, but he had been the last man standing after twice having the treasured title in his grasp long before the gloom enveloped the Centre Court.

Three break points went begging at 3-3 in the third set, two match points were lost in the fourth set tie-break, and Federer kept defying him until the very end before a 6-4 6-4 6-7 6-7 9-7 victory.

The Swiss master is never supposed to fight like this and Nadal is never meant to choke, but both things happened in a contest that forced the suspension of all preconceptions.

Perhaps the biggest of all was the long-established orthodoxy that no modern tennis player can win the French Open at Roland Garros, and follow it up after a gap of just two weeks by winning on the lawns of Wimbledon.

Nadal smashed that one, as well as Federer's phenomenal 65-match winning streak on grass, going back all the way to 2002 before his run of five All England Club triumphs begun.

Perfect moment: Rafa realises his dream

Astonishingly, this exceeded all expectations and was even a step up on last year's epic, despite the blustery conditions being more suited to flying kites than playing tennis.

If anything the quality of hitting got better as the match went on, Nadal's brute power and accuracy just outpointing Federer's immaculate forehand, which made up for his weakness on the other flank.

The Spaniard's amazing athleticism was matched only by his resolve, which refused to break despite continual setbacks in the decider.

Federer saved two break points at 5-5 in the final set and was forced to deuce two games later. On his next service game he saved three more break points before hitting a fatal backhand long.

When Nadal forced a third match point the response was a backhand cross court return winner before the final forehand went into the net, a false representation of all that had gone before.

Like Borg versus McEnroe in 1980 this match can even lay claim to a signature tiebreak - in the fourth set - that will be remembered as long as this game is played.

Nadal bludgeoned his way to 5-2 up and then, with the glittering prize in sight, was promptly consumed by nerves, double faulting and then missing a simple backhand.

Control...

power...

...and victory

Federer got all the way back to 6-5 and then two errors on the forehand, his banker shot all day, presented a first match point. It was saved with an ace, and responded to by an astounding forehand pass down the line to put the Spaniard on the brink of glory again.

This time the champion was forced into his back left corner, from where he somehow threaded a blinding backhand pass to save himself. A punched forehand and then a over-wraught backhand from Nadal pushed it into a decider.

Federer's had looked assured at the start but that was soon replaced by the sense of a man being in two minds. He was not quite sure whether he wanted to stay back and be dragged halfway to Mitcham by his opponent's cross court backhand, but he was sometimes hesitant about coming into the net.

End of an era: Roger Federer faces up to the fact that his domination of Wimbledon is coming to an end.

The Swiss had already missed one break point and two more went missing at 4-5 before Nadal managed what he had failed to do in the two previous SW19 finals - actually take the first set.

Surely now the bad memories of the Roland Garros massacre four weeks ago would come pouring back, but a forehand pass got the Swiss an early break and he sped to 4-1 up.

A sudden run of two breaks allowed Nadal to serve for the set, and he managed that despite being given a time violation that flew in the fact of consistency.

At 3-3 in the fourth we saw the first crack in Nadal's psyche. With Federer disoriented by his failure to convert eleven of twelve break opportunities, he went down to 0-40 on his serve, only for his opponent's arm to lock when a short second serve was driven into the net.

The world number two then had an hour and twenty minutes to stew on it as the rain made its first intervention. Ultimately, though, one force of nature could not disrupt another.

Great rivals: Federer and Nadal embrace at the end of a quite memorable Wimbledon final