Rediff

London, Jul 7: Rafael Nadal punched a mighty hole through Roger Federer's aura of invincibility on Sunday to become the first Spaniard in over four decades to win the Wimbledon men's singles crown.

In one of the most nerve-jangling finals seen at the All England Club, Nadal survived two rain breaks and an astonishing Federer fightback to end the Swiss's five-year reign as Wimbledon champion with a thrilling 6-4, 6-4, 6-7, 6-7, 9-7 victory.

While Nadal emulated the 1966 feat of fellow Spaniard Manuel Santana, Federer's dreams of eclipsing Bjorn Borg and setting a modern-era record of six successive Wimbledon titles died after four hours and 48 minutes of heart-stopping action.

Nadal's astounding journey to win his first crown at the grasscourt Grand Slam began under cloudy skies at 1336 GMT, and finished in near darkness at 2016.

The 22-year-old collapsed on to his back the moment Federer buried a forehand into the net on Nadal's fourth match point.

Dragging himself up from the turf, a tearful Nadal clambered through the stands to embrace his family and friends, who draped the red and yellow Spanish flag over his shoulders.

In a Wimbledon first, the Majorcan then strode across the commentary boxes on Centre Court to shake hands with Prince Felipe and Princess Letizia of Spain in the Royal Box and went on to exchange high fives with numerous fans in the stands.

"It's impossible to explain what I felt in that moment... winning my favourite tournament, it's a dream," Nadal told the crowd after becoming the first man since Borg in 1980 to complete the Roland Garros-Wimbledon double in the same year.

Power Balance

Four weeks after humiliating Federer in the French Open final, Nadal demonstrated that the balance of power in men's tennis had shifted in his favour when he handed the Swiss his first grasscourt defeat in six years.

An utterly dejected Federer, though still world number one, could barely fathom his first major final defeat outside his three losses at Roland Garros.

"This is a disaster, Paris was nothing in comparison," said the 12-times grand slam champion, who had hoped to close in on Pete Sampras's overall record of 14 major titles.

With the Swiss now a month shy of turning 27, Sunday's defeat would almost certainly have ended his dreams of emulating William Renshaw's 1880s record of six Wimbledon titles in a row.

Twenty-seven years after a left-handed John McEnroe wrecked Borg's hopes of landing six in a row, Federer's dreams were also scuppered by another left hander.

Nadal, four-times a French Open champion, had stepped out for his third All England Club final knowing the numbers were clearly stacked against him.

The Spaniard had captured one title on grass, Federer's total stood at 10. Nadal had a 30-7 win-loss record on grass, the Swiss's was a far more impressive 81-11. No one had been able to beat Federer on his favourite turf for 65 matches.

However, Nadal also knew that he was capable of tearing apart the Swiss's game plan, as he had done in the Paris final just four Sundays ago when Federer had bagged only four games.

Winning Streak

Such has been the Spaniard's form, entering the contest on the back of a 23-match winning streak, he made even the stylish Swiss look like an ordinary club player at times when he bagged the first set and clawed back from 4-1 down to take the second.

It left Federer facing an uphill battle since the last time a man had come from two sets down to win a Wimbledon final was way back in 1927.

As Federer struggled with the gusting conditions, Nadal leapt in the air administering his crackling top spin, hammering the ball relentlessly into the corners and stretching his opponent to the limit.

Nadal seemed to edge towards victory at 3-3 in the third set when Federer fell 0-40 down but he served his way out trouble.

After the first 81-minute rain delay Federer pounced in the third set tiebreak, clinching it 7-5 with a belting ace.

Federer's survival instincts kicked in when he served at 4-5 and 5-6 in the fourth set to take the contest into a tiebreak that had the crowd on the edge of their seats.

Nadal streaked to a 5-2 lead and with two serves at his disposal, it seemed Federer's reign was over.

But the Spaniard showed a rare sign of nerves when he produced a double fault and followed it up with another error.

Nadal was able to earn a championship point at 7-6 only to see Federer erase it with a 204 kph service winner. Nadal carved out a second match point at 8-7 with a running forehand pass. Pinned in the corner, Federer conjured an incredible backhand passing shot down the line to deny Nadal again.

Federer had the set in the bag two points later, taking the tiebreak 10-8, and with the tide turning in his favour, it looked as if he could become the first man since Bob Falkenburg in 1948 to win a Wimbledon final from match point down.

Proceedings were again disrupted by rain at 2-2 in the fifth set and upon resumption the duo kept up the intensity.

At 5-4 up in the fifth, the Swiss came within two points of victory but a relentless Nadal averted the danger and five games later he had the break that mattered, zooming in towards a famous victory after the longest men's singles final at Wimbledon.

Nadal factbox

Born: June 3, 1986 in Manacor, Majorca
Turned professional: 2002
Grand slam titles: Five (French Open 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008; Wimbledon 2008)

*Won his first ATP title in Sopot, Poland in August 2004, defeating Argentine Jose Acasuso in the final. Later that year beat Andy Roddick to help Spain overcome the United States in the Davis Cup final.

*Lost to Igor Andreev in the quarter-finals of the Valencia Open in April 2005 but from then on, he won a record 81 consecutive matches on clay before the streak came to an end in Hamburg in May 2007.

*Became first man since Swede Mats Wilander in 1982 to win the French Open title on debut with a four-set victory over Argentine Mariano Puerta in June 2005.

*A year later, won his second successive French Open title with victory over Federer in the final. Became the first Spanish man to reach the Wimbledon final (losing to Federer) since Manuel Santana won the title in 1966.

*In 2007, won titles in Indian Wells, Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Rome but was beaten by Federer in Hamburg as his two-year winning streak on clay came to an end.

*Became the first man since Bjorn Borg in 1980 to win a hat-trick of French Open titles, taking his Roland Garros record to 21-0.

*Becomes the first player since Borg (1978 to 1981) to claim four successive French Open titles, having won his 28 matches on the Paris clay since his debut in 2005.

*In 2008 beats world number one and defending champion Roger Federer to win his first Wimbledon title.