Changing of the guard as Nadal battles his way to Wimbledon title.
With the night sky descending on SW19 a new era of mens tennis was beginning to dawn. As Roger Federer sent a forehand crashing into the bottom of the net Rafael Nadal fell to the floor in joy and the knowledge that - unofficially at least - he is, right now the best player on Earth.
After coming so close last year to toppling the World number one, taking Federer to five sets Nadal was desperate to taste victory on in what he later described as, "his favourite tournament", And after claiming both of the opening sets it seemed that this year was going to be his and his in dominant fashion. Such is the determination of Federer that he was not going to give in easily and clawed his way back into the match.
Nadal had taken both the first and second set on a solitary break 6-4 but the man from Basel had a plan up his sleeve for the remainder of the match and it oh so nearly came off.
Federer took his time, as did Nadal, deploying a definite strategy to take whatever he could off the Spaniard's serve and making sure that he held his own.
The plan nearly backfired however though as Nadal took a 0-40 lead against the Federer serve with the games locked at 3-3 but the former champion rallied, winning the next five points to save his service game.
After this it was plain sailing for Federer and when the tie-break came he stepped up yet another gear.
The pair had not lost a single breaker between them all tournament although in the 2007 final they played out two, both of which Federer won.
Whether last years result was playing on Nadal's mind we will never know but his elder oponent raced out of the traps to take the breaker on a 7-3, serving the set out on an ace.
Centre court's atmosphere is among the best in the sport but even for the most ardent of tennis fans, the electricity in the clouds above was mirrored in the stadium below as 15,000 fans almost begged for the match to go all the way. What was about to happen before their eyes though, no-one could have predicted.
Federer stayed calm and as the Rudyard Kipling poem - which famously features on the players walk to Centre - kept his head whilst all those about him were losing theirs even when his serve was letting the great man down.
Twice in the fourth set Federer went down 0-30 on his serve but as only he can do it seems, managed to keep his focus squarely on the job in hand and in a flash reeled off a pair of pocket aces and two more powerful backhands to hold serve once more and take us into another breaker.
This time however it was the younger Spaniard who began in cruise control and even though Federer broke Nadal's serve in the opening point, the World number two stormed to a 5-2 lead and had two serves with which to take the set.
Nadal's serve has vastly improved this season which is one of the reason's why his next serve caused many to believe the tension was getting to him.
Nadal stepped up to the baseline and inexplicably double faulted and then Federer took full advantage of any nerves the 22-year-old may have been showing, winning the next point to bring it back to 5-4 and taking his chances on both of his own service points. Eventually the breaker was won by the Swiss 8-6 and left many believing that Nadal had now blown his chances of claiming his first Wimbledon title against his greatest of rivals.
Not so though as in the final set, with the games level at 7-7 Nadal took his chance, upping the intensity of his shots and forcing Federer to take risks, to which led to errors and the young Spaniard had yet another possibility of taking the match. Regardless of who had bet on either player at the start of this match, hearts would be in mouths right now.
He made no mistake this time. Even when Federer saved match point - the third of the encounter - it did not dampen his spirits and following a final fine rally Nadal pushed Federer out wide who then hit a forehand into the base of the net and, close to the baseline an overwhelmed Nadal fell to the floor with camera flashes flickering above him taking the match 6-4 6-4 6-7 (3-7) 6-7 (8-10) 9-7.
After four hours and 48 minutes - the longest Wimbledon mens final in history - Nadal had made it and he climbed up to the players box, just as Pat Cash had done so in 1987 before climbing across the commentary positions to the Royal box where he was greeted, draped in his Countries colours by the Prince and Princess of Spain.
The moment will live with Nadal for the rest of his life and will serve as a massive blow to Federer who truly is one of the games greats. What lies in store for these two only time will tell but we will not have to wait long as they are in line for a showdown in the masters series in a month.
After coming so close last year to toppling the World number one, taking Federer to five sets Nadal was desperate to taste victory on in what he later described as, "his favourite tournament", And after claiming both of the opening sets it seemed that this year was going to be his and his in dominant fashion. Such is the determination of Federer that he was not going to give in easily and clawed his way back into the match.
Nadal had taken both the first and second set on a solitary break 6-4 but the man from Basel had a plan up his sleeve for the remainder of the match and it oh so nearly came off.
Federer took his time, as did Nadal, deploying a definite strategy to take whatever he could off the Spaniard's serve and making sure that he held his own.
The plan nearly backfired however though as Nadal took a 0-40 lead against the Federer serve with the games locked at 3-3 but the former champion rallied, winning the next five points to save his service game.
After this it was plain sailing for Federer and when the tie-break came he stepped up yet another gear.
The pair had not lost a single breaker between them all tournament although in the 2007 final they played out two, both of which Federer won.
Whether last years result was playing on Nadal's mind we will never know but his elder oponent raced out of the traps to take the breaker on a 7-3, serving the set out on an ace.
Centre court's atmosphere is among the best in the sport but even for the most ardent of tennis fans, the electricity in the clouds above was mirrored in the stadium below as 15,000 fans almost begged for the match to go all the way. What was about to happen before their eyes though, no-one could have predicted.
Federer stayed calm and as the Rudyard Kipling poem - which famously features on the players walk to Centre - kept his head whilst all those about him were losing theirs even when his serve was letting the great man down.
Twice in the fourth set Federer went down 0-30 on his serve but as only he can do it seems, managed to keep his focus squarely on the job in hand and in a flash reeled off a pair of pocket aces and two more powerful backhands to hold serve once more and take us into another breaker.
This time however it was the younger Spaniard who began in cruise control and even though Federer broke Nadal's serve in the opening point, the World number two stormed to a 5-2 lead and had two serves with which to take the set.Nadal's serve has vastly improved this season which is one of the reason's why his next serve caused many to believe the tension was getting to him.
Nadal stepped up to the baseline and inexplicably double faulted and then Federer took full advantage of any nerves the 22-year-old may have been showing, winning the next point to bring it back to 5-4 and taking his chances on both of his own service points. Eventually the breaker was won by the Swiss 8-6 and left many believing that Nadal had now blown his chances of claiming his first Wimbledon title against his greatest of rivals.
Not so though as in the final set, with the games level at 7-7 Nadal took his chance, upping the intensity of his shots and forcing Federer to take risks, to which led to errors and the young Spaniard had yet another possibility of taking the match. Regardless of who had bet on either player at the start of this match, hearts would be in mouths right now.
He made no mistake this time. Even when Federer saved match point - the third of the encounter - it did not dampen his spirits and following a final fine rally Nadal pushed Federer out wide who then hit a forehand into the base of the net and, close to the baseline an overwhelmed Nadal fell to the floor with camera flashes flickering above him taking the match 6-4 6-4 6-7 (3-7) 6-7 (8-10) 9-7.
After four hours and 48 minutes - the longest Wimbledon mens final in history - Nadal had made it and he climbed up to the players box, just as Pat Cash had done so in 1987 before climbing across the commentary positions to the Royal box where he was greeted, draped in his Countries colours by the Prince and Princess of Spain.
The moment will live with Nadal for the rest of his life and will serve as a massive blow to Federer who truly is one of the games greats. What lies in store for these two only time will tell but we will not have to wait long as they are in line for a showdown in the masters series in a month.
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