Wimbledon, On This Day: Federer and Nadal play out an all-time classic

Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer in the final of a Grand Slam is a combination that makes almost comforting sense. The pair met in nine finals, and their meeting in the 2008 Wimbledon final is one that history has remembered well. Over the course of nearly five hours filled with twists, turns and high-quality tennis, the two put on a show that enthralled Centre Court. 

The size of the task in front of Nadal was daunting. Standing on the opposite side of the net was the man who had beaten him in the previous two years’ finals, as part of a run of five consecutive Wimbledon victories. Five titles in a row had long established him in the pantheon of legends of the Centre Court. His form in 2008 Wimbledon had been imperious as well, not dropping a single set in a clinical run to the final.

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Not that this was ever likely to scare a fierce competitor like Nadal though. Having already dominated Federer in the Roland Garros final that year and clinically made his way through the draw in London, Nadal coolly took the opening set 6-4, and when Federer seemed to be biting in the second set at 4-1, won five games unanswered to place himself firmly in the ascendancy. 

However, the man with five Wimbledon titles in a row was hardly likely to be fazed by being two sets down, and the Swiss player kept his nerve to win the third set on tie-break. The fourth set would also go to a tie-break that would produce some truly fine strokemaking. Nadal again raced into a 5-2 lead, but Federer would once again bring things back from the edge, saving two championship points in the process.

In back-to-back points, first Nadal and then Federer sent swerving forehands past their forward-bound opponents. A video of the tie-break on the Wimbledon YouTube account has a commentator proclaiming that they were the two best passing shots of the tournament. Once again from the brink, Federer took the fourth set and it was two sets apiece. 

With the final now into a deciding set, both players held their serves with clockwork precision. At 7-7, Nadal broke his opponent, and a game later, Federer sent a forehand into the net to confirm the result. 6-4, 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-7(8), 9-7. After four hours and 48 minutes, Nadal had finally won Wimbledon.