Rafael Nadal proved all his critics wrong on July 6 2008 and finally won a Grand Slam trophy different than Roland Garros. He chose the best place to do it – Wimbledon, the tournament he has described as his favourite. And who better to play against for the trophy than world number one Roger Federer, defending champion and five-time winner at All England Club.
The game did not come easy for Nadal who was almost flawless. It took him almost five hours, the longest men singles final in history, to seal his win against arguably one of the best players ever in the world of tennis.
It was one of the best tennis matches played in the game's history and a titanic encounter on par with the Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe matches used to play when they met at All England Club so any years ago.
It had everything: rain, wind, comebacks missed, match balls and plenty of drama but, most of all, top-quality tennis. With Federer going for a historic sixth win in a row at Wimbledon, Rafa, as he was cheered on by his supporters, would need a sublime performance against Roger, himself a strong crowd favourite, to take a measure of revenge for last year's final, which the Spaniard lost in a five-set epic match.
The first two sets were easily won by Nadal, which brought memories from this year's French Open final, when Nadal was unstoppable.
Federer, unassailable as world number one, came back miraculously into the match after the enforced break due to rain. In the third set Federer bet on his biggest weapon - the fast serve - and won.
The tie-break was the big test for the two with Federer emerging as the winner of the set. It was an identical situation in the fourth set with the players winning their sets and ending the set in a tie-break.
Here was the big moment for Nadal. Leading 5:2, he had two match balls, but Federer kept his nerve and won the set, saving two match points in the process. The defending champion teetered on the edge on several occasions, but came back again and again, serving an astonishing 25 aces throughout the match.
Then the weather came into the game and the match had to be paused for a second time. After the pause, Nadal came out more determined then ever and managed to neutralise the only thing that kept Federer in the game: Federer's service.
Six games later, Nadal was finally rewarded for his endurance when he managed to break Federer's service. This was the turning point for Nadal and the win came in the next game, the Spaniard crumbling, seemingly exhausted, on the grass of the All England Club. Not for long though, Nadal running to the stands to embrace his family and then making his way to the royal box to receive the congratulations of the Spanish royals, who watch the match.
The final score was 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (3-7), 6-7 (8-10), 9-7, which was enough for him to be declared as the new king of Wimbledon in a real tennis epic. He became the first tennis player since Borg in 1980 to win both Roland Garros and Wimbledon in one season, saying after match ended: "It's impossible to explain what I felt when I won. I'm just very happy to win this title. I never thought I could win but to do so is a dream".
A clearly disappointed Federer conceeded that the better man won: "I tried everything. Rafa is a deserving champion - he just played fantastic. It is a pity I did not win but I will be back next year."
