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Men's final at Wimbledon hailed as 'greatest ever'
Valentine Low, Evening Standard7 Jul 2008
It is being hailed around the world as the greatest Wimbledon final ever, an epic encounter that for drama and excitement - and length - earned itself an instant place in tennis history.
As Wimbledon greeted its new champion in the muscular form of Rafael Nadal, the gruelling battle with five-times champion Roger Federer was being lauded as an even more magnificent contest than the great final between Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe a quarter of a century ago.
McEnroe himself - three times champion and a television commentator at the tournament - said: "This is the greatest match I've ever seen."
The New York Times described it as "one of the greatest tennis matches ever played" while here the Independent called it "a contest that should go down as the greatest Wimbledon final in history".
Tennis historian Bud Collins said: "I have covered 41 finals, including the classics of 1980 and 1981 with Borg and McEnroe, but this four-hour, 48-minute final is number one."
Tim Henman said: "I cannot think of a better match in history. For me, Nadal's win is the best match I've ever seen."
Millions of TV viewers were riveted as Federer - the world No 1 and the seemingly unbeatable titan of Wimbledon - faced 22-year-old Nadal, the winner of four straight French Open championships and the man revered as the king of clay.
Repeated rain delays meant that the great battle between these two extraordinary talents - Boris Becker called them "two of the greatest players to have played this beautiful game of tennis" - stretched over nearly seven hours.
Finally, with darkness enveloping Centre Court and the clock showing 9.15 pm, Nadal watched as Federer's errant forehand settled into the net and it was all over. The king is dead: long live the king.
"It's impossible to explain what I felt in that moment," Nadal said after receiving the winner's trophy from the Duke of Kent. "Just very, very happy to win this title. For me, it is a dream to play in this tournament. But to win, I never imagined something like this." Federer called it "probably my hardest loss, by far".
The lateness of the match meant that by the time Nadal arrived at the Wimbledon Ball at 12.30am the food was all gone. Handed the trophy by the chairman of the All England Club Tim Phillips, he dropped the lid on the floor - but even that did not take away the magic of the occasion. Nadal said: "I am very sorry that I am late."
The British winner of the girls' championship, 14-year-old Laura Robson, stayed until 2am.
