The 2008 Wimbledon final between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer is still considered by many fans and experts to be the best tennis match of all time. For the Spaniard, the first title at the grass classic in London was a milestone in his career.
In 2006 and 2007, Nadal was defeated by Federer in the Wimbledon finals. In the summer of 2008, the left-hander’s big moment was to come at Church Road.
“I had already lost two finals. In 2008 I came to the tournament well prepared. For me it was a big goal to win Wimbledon,” said Nadal to the “BBC”.
The Spaniard achieved this goal in a highly dramatic final against Federer. It was 6:4, 6:4, 6:7, 6:7, 9:7 for Nadal after 4 hours and 48 minutes of play and an interim rain interruption.
Nadal takes a “hard blow”.
“I started the final well – the first set went very well, the second set was a bit strange and Roger made a few mistakes. But as the game became more even, Roger increased his level of play. He became more and more aggressive,” said the tennis legend.
“I lost the third set. That’s okay – he played very well and served very well. But the tiebreak in the fourth set was a bitter blow for me,” Nadal revealed in retrospect.
“You feel like you’re just seconds away from winning Wimbledon, and the next moment you have to fight for another set after losing two sets in a row against the best grass court player in history. Dealing with all of that mentally was a challenge,” the now 40-year-old said.
Tennis milestone for Nadal
Nadal held his nerve and won the first of his two Wimbledon titles.
“It’s impossible to describe what I felt at that moment. Playing on that pitch was a dream. But winning? I could never have imagined something like that,” he revealed.
It was a milestone for Nadal. “2008 was an incredible step forward in my career because I proved to myself that I can win a Grand Slam tournament outside of clay courts,” Nadal said in retrospect.