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Toughest
defeat!
From Sport desk
Sunday, July 13, 2008
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•Federer
(l) and Nadal
Photo: Sun News Publishing |
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Roger Federer admitted losing his Wimbledon crown to Rafael
Nadal was the toughest defeat of his career. But everyone
else was still marvelling over arguably the greatest tennis
match in history.
John McEnroe said Nadal's 6-4 6-4 6-7 6-7 9-7 victory was
the best match he had ever seen and that included his 1980
final against Bjorn Borg, which entranced tennis fans across
the globe.
Federer said: "It's up to the fans to judge whether it
was the best ever. I'm happy we put in a great effort.
"It was a fair battle, which was tough with the rain
delays. There were some great points and I think we both stayed
tough until the very end.
"In tennis, unfortunately, there have to be winners and
losers, there are no draws. But it was probably my hardest
loss by far. It doesn't get much harder than this."
The match was the longest ever Wimbledon final at four hours
and 48 minutes with the action ending at 9.16pm in the gloaming
after a truly gladiatorial battle, which saw Federer claw
his way back from two sets down to win two tense tie-breaks
in a match punctuated by two rain breaks that only added to
the suspense.
The Wimbledon scoreboard was shining brightly in the gloom
when Nadal finally broke the Federer serve in the 15th game
of the final set and then served out for a victory that shifts
the balance of power in world tennis.
It is the first time since Bjorn Borg in 1980, a player has
won the French Open and Wimbledon in the same year and Nadal
joins Borg, Rod Laver and Andre Agassi as the only players
to have won grand slams on clay and grass in the Open era.
Nadal, who has four French Open titles said: "I am very
happy to have a title here at Wimbledon. When I was a kid
I dreamed of playing here but to win here is unbelievable.
The Spanish do not have a lot of titles here.
"I don't want to compare the grand slams but Wimbledon
is special for everybody. It is more of a surprise for me
to win here than the French.
"For me, it is emotional and probably the best match
(I have played). It was the final of Wimbledon and I had to
fight all the time."
Both players believed the match would have been halted in
the fading light if it had gone to one more game.
Nadal said: "In the last game I could see nothing. It
was unbelievable."
Meanwhile, Federer said: "I would have said something
if I'd broken back to eight-all. It would have been brutal
for the fans and us to come back but it was rough on me to
lose the biggest tournament in the world because of the light.
"It was not a whole lot of fun, but that's the way it
is. It's over, what's the point in arguing about it?"
The five-time champion will now find his number one ranking
under threat, and he added: "I wasn't able to break him
in the last three sets, but still I managed to push him right
to the edge.
"Probably, later on in life, I'll go: ‘That was
a great match.’ I'm happy the way I fought. That's all
I could really do."
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