The great man duly equalled Bjorn Borg's record of five titles in a row - and once again proved his superiority over world No.2 Rafael Nadal on grass. But only just . . . Roger Federer won his fifth consecutive Wimbledon men's singles title on Sunday in an epic encounter of guts and courage which underlined his superiority as the World No.1 - and probably finally confirmed him as the greatest player of all time. What made this final most special - apart from Federer's amazing stats - is that the Swiss master managed to do it while playing badly against Rafael Nadal. For much of the match, the formidable Spaniard looked as if he would end King Roger's Wimbledon winning streak just one match short of equalling Bjorn Borg's record of five straight titles at SW19. The 7-6, 4-6, 7-6, 2-6, 6-2 scoreline is a pretty accurate reflection of the match. Federer broke Nadal early in the first set to open up some daylight. But with a battler on the other side of the net, he was unable to maintain the momentum and Nadal broke back to level the scores and take the set to the tie break. Federer's superior ability when the chips are down is always of particular significance at the crucial stages and his strong serve gave him the advantage to keep his nose in front to take the set. The character of the main part of the match was pretty much defined by Federer's attempt to battle Nadal from the baseline - never a good idea, not even for him and not even on grass. He soon paid the price when Nadal took the second set 6-4 as the baseline style of play predominated and Federer appeared unable and even less willing to commit himself by coming into the net. Although he never lets his feelings show, the four-times champion did not look like a happy camper throughout the match and he was simply unable to string together a run of points which would allow him to break free of the Nadal stranglehold. The third set also went to a tie break with Nadal appearing far more brittle from the outset when he was broken on the first point. Federer, who ended up with five set points, duly went ahead in the match once more. The fourth set saw Federer relax a little and Nadal continued to plug away with excellent baseline shots on both sides. He got an early break, and even though he called the trainer to treat what appeared to be a knee injury, he continued to blast his shots from the baseline, with the occasional foray into the net. He maintained his lead to take the set and send the final to a fifth set for the first time since 2001, when Goran Ivanisevic beat Pat Rafter. Amazingly, towards the end of the set Federer actually lost his cool and even uttered an expletive (albeit a minor one considering the bad language which is so freely used these days) when he questioned the 'hawkeye' verdict after Nadal challenged the linesman's call. With such an unusual incident, one felt as if Federer was finally about to crack under the pressure. But like the great player he is, the Swiss maestro came back in the final set - even though it was mighty close. The strapping on Nadal's knee belied his real state. He ran as normal and hit his shots as powerfully as ever. He began the final set by almost breaking Federer, but the champion's serve was too strong and he held on before finally breaking Nadal in the fifth game and going on to clinch the match and the title. Federer fell to the ground in a combination of joy and relief - and there were tears of emotion as he celebrated a draining victory, not only for him but for the spectators as well.
