Tennis authority Jon Wertheim of Sports Illustrated wrote a book about the seven hours it took to complete this match, entitled “Strokes of Genius: Federer, Nadal, and the Greatest Match Ever Played.” Federer entered having won five consecutive Wimbledon titles, but his young Spanish rival was coming hard. Nadal took Federer to five sets at Centre Court in 2007 and had beaten Federer badly in the 2008 French Open final the month before Wimbledon. Could Federer hold him off?
The match lasted 4 hours and 48 minutes, not including two rain delays that added to the drama. The tennis was sublime, two masters at the top of their games. With fading sunlight and the threat of having to postpone the conclusion to Monday, Federer put a final forehand into the net and Nadal took down the champion 6-4, 6-4, 6-7, 6-7, 9-7 at 9:16 p.m. local time.
The rivalry continued from there for another decade, and added Novak Djokovic to the mix to create an unprecedented run of three of the greatest ever battling simultaneously not only for World No. 1 but for GOAT status. But if there is one match among all the clashes of those titans to be remembered, it is this one that stands at the top.
MORE: Back to The Sporting News’ 140 Greatest Sports Moments of All Time
SN COVERS: Check out all the classics from Ty Cobb to Kobe Bryant
SN ARCHIVE: Relive sports history through the pages of The Sporting News
More Tennis moments:
Read the full article here