2008 Wimbledon Championships – Men's singles final

Wimbledon 2008 Men's Final
Switzerland Roger Federer (1) vs. Spain Rafael Nadal (2)
Set 1 2345
Switzerland Roger Federer 4 4777107
Spain Rafael Nadal 6 665689
Date 6 July, 2008[1]
Tournament Wimbledon
Location London, United Kingdom
Federer and Nadal before the match

The 2008 Wimbledon Men's Singles final was the championship tennis match of the Men's Singles tournament at the 2008 Wimbledon Championships. A part of the storied Federer–Nadal rivalry, it pitted then-top ranked Roger Federer against then second ranked Rafael Nadal. After 4 hours and 48 minutes of play, Nadal defeated Federer 6–4, 6–4, 6–7(5–7), 6–7(8–10), 9–7. It is widely regarded as the greatest match in the history of tennis.[2][3][4][5][6]

Background

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have a storied rivalry that many consider to be the greatest in tennis history.[7][8][9][10][11] As they entered the 2008 Wimbledon Championships, the two men had combined to win 14 of the previous 16 Grand Slam titles.

The 2008 Wimbledon Men's Singles final was the third consecutive year in which Federer and Nadal had met in the finals of Wimbledon. Federer had won not only both previous meetings, but had also been the Wimbledon champion five years in a row and was now trying to become champion for a sixth consecutive year.

Nadal, on the other hand, had just won the French Open for the fourth time in a row and was trying to achieve the rare French Open-Wimbledon double. This feat was known to be extremely difficult because it required the player to make the switch from a slow clay surface to a fast grass surface and be the best on both surfaces within the span of a month. In the Open Era of tennis, only two men had previously achieved this feat: Rod Laver and Björn Borg. Since this showdown match, Roger Federer has completed the Roland-Garros/Wimbledon double in 2009 and Rafael Nadal achieved the feat for a second time in 2010.

Match details

Federer serving for the third set against Nadal in the Wimbledon final

Although the players were due on court at 14:00 BST, rain delayed the start of the match by about 35 minutes. The umpire was Pascal Maria.

Once the match had commenced, Nadal won the first two sets 6–4, 6–4, but rain stopped play once again as Federer led the third set 5–4. After an 80-minute break for the weather, Federer battled back to win the next two sets, 7–6, 7–6, saving two championship points in the fourth set tiebreak. The tiebreak is often regarded as one of the greatest ever played. With the score at 5–2, Nadal had the opportunity to win the title on his next two serves. However he hit a double fault followed by a netted backhand bringing the tiebreak back on serve. At 7–7, Nadal hit a forehand down the line past Federer setting up a championship point on his serve to which Federer responded with a similarly perfect backhand on the line to keep him in the match. BBC commentator Andrew Castle said: "The two best passing shots of the tournament, without doubt, have just taken place on the last two points."[12] A second rain delay at 19:53 BST kept the players in the locker room for another 30 minutes. When they returned onto court, darkness had already started setting in, and threatened to delay the match until the next day. During the deciding set, Federer was two points away (and at one point, a break point up) from claiming his sixth consecutive Wimbledon crown, but Nadal ultimately held serve and eventually broke Federer's serve in the 15th game of the set. Nadal would then serve out the match in the following game, and in the process, won the fifth set 9-7 and also the match itself.

During the match, Federer only converted one of thirteen break points on Nadal's serve.

Statistics

CategorySwitzerland FedererSpain Nadal
1st Serve %65%73%
Aces256
Double Faults23
Winners8960
Unforced Errors5227
Winner-UFE+37+33
Winning % on 1st Serve73%69%
Winning % on 2nd Serve57%59%
Receiving Points Won33%33%
Break Point Conversions1/13 (7%)4/13 (30%)
Net Approaches Won42/75 (56%)22/31 (71%)
Total Points Won204209
Fastest Serve129 mph126 mph
Average 1st Serve Speed117 mph112 mph
Average 2nd Serve Speed100 mph93 mph

Source

Significance

At 4 hours and 48 minutes, the match was the longest singles final at a Wimbledon in terms of time played, and was the longest in any Grand Slam Final until the 2012 Australian Open final.

By winning the match, Nadal achieved the rare French Open–Wimbledon double, joining Rod Laver and Björn Borg as the only men to do so in the Open Era. Federer achieved the same feat the following year. Nadal won the double again in 2010.

Two months later, in August, Nadal finally overtook Federer in the ATP Rankings, on which Federer had reigned as world no. 1 for a record 237 consecutive weeks. Many tennis analysts wondered whether this was the beginning of Federer's decline in favor of the younger Nadal, or perhaps his recovery from a six-month battle with mononucleosis was not complete.[13] Federer regained the top ranking on three occasions, after winning the Wimbledon title in 2009 and 2012, and after winning the Australian Open in 2018.

Due to the rain delays, the match ended in near darkness at 21:15 BST.[14] It was to be the last Wimbledon final to be significantly affected by rain, as a retractable roof was being installed at Centre Court and was in place by the 2009 Wimbledon Championships.

References

  1. ↑ Alan Little. 2009 Wimbledon Compendium. p. 78. ISBN 978-1-899039-31-9.
  2. ↑ Jenkins, Bruce (2008-07-07). "The Greatest Match Ever". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on 11 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-14.
  3. ↑ Alleyne, Richard (2008-07-07). "Wimbledon 2008: John McEnroe hails Rafael Nadal victory as greatest final ever". London: The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 4 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-14.
  4. ↑ Wertheim, Jon (2008-07-09). "Without a doubt, it's the greatest". Tennis Mailbag. Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on 4 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-14.
  5. ↑ Tignor, Steve (2008-07-08). "W: Report Cards". Concrete Elbow. Tennis.com. Archived from the original on 3 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-14.
  6. ↑ Tignor, Steve (2015-12-03). "2008: NADAL BEATS FEDERER IN THE GREATEST MATCH OF ALL TIME". Tennis.com. Archived from the original on 11 February 2009. Retrieved 2015-12-03.
  7. ↑ "Federer-Nadal rivalry as good as it gets". International Herald Tribune (Associated Press). 7 July 2008. Archived from the original on 1 March 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-14.
  8. ↑ Weaver, Paul (7 July 2008). "Move over McEnroe and Borg, this one will run and run in the memory". London: The Guardian. Archived from the original on 23 January 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-14.
  9. ↑ Flanagan, Martin (12 July 2008). "Federer v Nadal as good as sport gets". The Age. Archived from the original on 4 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-14.
  10. ↑ Bodo, Peter (30 January 2009). "Rivalry!". Peter Bodo's Tennisworld. Tennis.com. Archived from the original on 11 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-14.
  11. ↑ MacGregor, Jeff (3 February 2009). "Greatest rivalry of the 21st century?". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on 12 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-14.
  12. ↑ Jewell, Alan (29 June 2018). "Wimbledon: Rafael Nadal & Roger Federer's 2008 final - what made it so special?". BBC Sport. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  13. ↑ "Federer battles off-court foe - mononucleosis". Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  14. ↑ "Nadal wins epic Wimbledon final". bbc. 2008-06-06. Retrieved 25 June 2010.
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