Rafael Nadal put an end to the five-year reign of Roger Federer over the Wimbledon men's singles title after beating the Swiss in a thrilling full-set final here on Sunday.
The 22-year-old thus became the first in 28 years to pocket both the French and wimbledon Open titles in a season.
And he's the first Spaniard in over four decades to win the grass court grand slam. Manuel Santana was the last netman from Spain to win the title in 1966.
In one of the most nerve-jangling finals seen at the All England Club, Nadal survived two rain breaks and an astonishing Federer fightback to wrap up the 6-4, 6-4, 6-7, 6-7, 9-7 victory in four hours and 48 minutes.
The result ended Federer's dreams of eclipsing Bjorn Borg and setting a modern-era record of six successive Wimbledon titles.
Nadal collapsed on to his back the moment Federer buried a forehand into the net on Nadal's fourth match point.
It's also the first grasscourt defeat for Federer in six years.
"This is a disaster, Paris was nothing in comparison," said the12-times grand slam champion, who had hoped to close in on Pete Sampras's overall record of 14 major titles.
Source: Xinhua
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