Captain Cardie's gameplan unravels

Dejected Roger Federer covers his face after the match


Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal before the epic thriller unfolds

By Alix Ramsay

As the light faded over Centre Court, an era faded with it. Roger Federer's grasp on the Championships was finally loosened by Rafael Nadal in a final that will be remembered forever by all who saw it.

It took 4hrs 48 mins for Nadal to make his mark in the All England Club history books but finally, stunningly, the Spaniard beat the man in the cardigan 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 6-7 (8-10), 9-7.

Every superhero, however big, however strong, has his Achilles heel and Captain Cardie’s is Nadal. The man who, for five years, has ruled Wimbledon with a forehand of steel, now seems unable to counter the force of the muscular Majorcan.

Against anyone else, Federer waves his racquet like a wand and can turn any situation to his own advantage. But against Nadal, Captain Cardie's cable stitch gets snagged on the Majorcan's secret crochet hook, his defences unravel and the superhero is rendered mortal.

Grand Slam finals are often strange affairs – two tense men in search of greatness often fail to produce magnificent tennis, especially not in the early stages of the encounter. But when Federer and Nadal stand eyeball to eyeball over a major piece silverware, the result is stupendous.

From the very first point, both men bring the best out of each other – they have to because both know that the bloke on the other side of the net is capable of tearing him to shreds. And to see them in action is to realise just how far above the rest of the pack they stand. Other men may have a good day and catch one of the top two off guard, they may hit a bit of a purple patch one afternoon, but no one belongs in the same league as Captain Cardie and Muscleman.

So evenly matched are the pair that they are looking for any, miniscule, advantage to give them an edge. Nadal is a superstitious soul who likes to walk on court second, who likes to sit closest to the Royal Box to be nearer his support team and who hates to have his routine disturbed. So Federer ushered him on court first (“No, no, after you, Raf…”) and marched purposefully towards Nadal’s favourite seat.

Getting his retaliation in first, Nadal, who shares the same clothing sponsor as his foe, selected a cream coloured warm-up top to top off his otherwise pristine white outfit. It may not have been made of cashmere and it may not have had his own specially designed logo emblazoned on the front, but it made the point – I'm as good as you, amigo, and don’t you forget it.

The nagging worry for Federer is that Nadal is actually better than he is, and that thought has gnawed away at him for the past couple of years. It is all very well for the Spaniard to dominate the clay courts of Roland Garros but SW19 is Roger’s patch and he is none too keen on trespassers. But Nadal, playing in his third final, was no longer an outsider straying into someone else’s territory. He had looked around the property, decided he liked it and put in an offer for the title deeds.

At times, the tennis was remarkable. Federer’s forehand was like a heat-seeking missile, he was trying to attack the net, he was looking smooth. But whenever the match moved to an important point, out came Nadal’s secret crochet hook and Captain Cardie was undone.

For 2hrs 15 mins they slugged it out before the rain sent them running for cover. In that time Federer held 12 break points and converted just one of them. The longer it went on, the less likely he looked to take his chances, tapping his backhand lamely into the net time and again. Creating the break point chance seemed easy – such things are for superheroes – but turning it into an advantage was nigh on impossible.

And all the while Nadal was relentless, grinding on to a two-set lead and watching Federer fluff six break points in the third set until, with the Swiss leading 5-4, the rains came.

Only once before has anyone managed to put Federer on the back foot in the final – and that was four years ago. Then Andy Roddick snatched the opening set against the champion and was running him ragged until a rain delay gave Federer time to think and he came back out with all guns blazing.

History has a strange habit of repeating itself and back at work again 80 minutes later, Federer was back to his best. Perhaps it was the chance to put the magic cardie on again that did it, but having rediscovered his serve, he took charge of the third set tie-break and set off towards the fourth set.

This was a new Federer; this was the majestic Federer – this was Captain Cardie swooping to save his championship.

Twice Nadal stood two points from the title – in the 10th game and again in the tie-break – and then as the fourth-set tie-break came to the crunch, the Spaniard held two, precious championship points. The superhero in Federer puffed out his chest and grabbed the first back with a service winner and the second with a backhand that rifled down the tramline and landed in the corner. They have nerves of titanium, these superheroes.

And then it rained again.

This time there was no edgy switch in momentum, but another 55 minutes of stunning hitting, lung-bursting running and unbelievable, magnificent, monumental tennis.

As a Federer forehand sailed long, he dropped his serve and as, eight points, later another landed in the net, the Cardigan of Invincibility had passed to Nadal. Captain Cardie's reign was over.