Nadal steals Federer's crown

By Pritha Sarkar

LONDON (Reuters) - Rafael Nadal punched a mighty hole through Roger Federer's aura of invincibility on Sunday to become the first Spaniard in over four decades to win the Wimbledon men's singles crown.

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 end the Swiss's five-year reign as Wimbledon champion with a thrilling 6-4 6-4 6-7 6-7 9-7 victory.

While Nadal emulated the 1966 feat of fellow Spaniard Manuel Santana, Federer's dreams of eclipsing Bjorn Borg and setting a modern-era record of six successive Wimbledon titles died after four hours and 48 minutes of heart-stopping action.

Nadal's astounding journey to win his first crown at the grasscourt grand slam began under cloudy skies at 9:36 a.m. EDT, and finished in near darkness at 4:16 p.m. EDT.

The 22-year-old collapsed on to his back the moment Federer buried a forehand into the net on Nadal's fourth match point.

Dragging himself up from the turf, a tearful Nadal clambered through the stands to embrace his family and friends, who draped the red and yellow Spanish flag over his shoulders.

In a Wimbledon first, the Majorcan then strode across the commentary boxes on Centre Court to shake hands with Prince Felipe and Princess Letizia of Spain in the Royal Box and went on to exchange high fives with numerous fans in the stands.

"It's impossible to explain what I felt in that moment... winning my favorite tournament, it's a dream," Nadal told the crowd after becoming the first man since Borg in 1980 to complete the Roland Garros-Wimbledon double in the same year.

POWER BALANCE

Four weeks after humiliating Federer in the French Open final, Nadal demonstrated that the balance of power in men's tennis had shifted in his favor when he handed the Swiss his first grasscourt defeat in six years.

An utterly dejected Federer, though still world number one, could barely fathom his first major final defeat outside his three losses at Roland Garros.

"This is a disaster, Paris was nothing in comparison," said the 12-times grand slam champion, who had hoped to close in on Pete Sampras's overall record of 14 major titles.

With the Swiss now a month shy of turning 27, Sunday's defeat would almost certainly have ended his dreams of emulating William Renshaw's 1880s record of six Wimbledon titles in a row.

Twenty-seven years after a left-handed John McEnroe wrecked Borg's hopes of landing six in a row, Federer's dreams were also scuppered by another left hander.

Nadal, four-times a French Open champion, had stepped out for his third All England Club final knowing the numbers were clearly stacked against him.