Roger Federer collected his fourth consecutive Wimbledon title with a 6-0, 7-6(5), 6-7(2), 6-3 victory over first time finalist, Rafael Nadal. Rafa knew before going into the match how tough it was going to be, to try and dethrone the King of grass on Centre Court.

His fears were proven as Federer came out and blitzed the first set 6-0. However Rafa is renowned for his fighting abilities and he dug deep in the second set to go up a break immediately.

The pair played a high quality set and Rafa matched Federer shot for shot. But when Rafa came to serve for the set nerves struck again and Federer was able to take advantage to level the set. The Swiss then went on to take the tie break to lead by two sets to love.

Rafa continued battling in the third set and showed everyone how much he has improved on grass since last year. He stepped up his serving and his backhand was especially impressive as he forced Federer into a tie break which he ran away with 7-2 to get back into the match. But Federer weathered the storm well. There were some tense moments at the start of the fourth set, and Federer looked as though he might fall behind again. However the defending champion showed everyone why he is near invincible on grass and broke Rafa twice with some incredible tennis to lead 5-1.

Rafa managed to peg Federer back once, but when Federer served for it a second time at 5-3, he didn't falter and deservedly picked up his second grand slam title of the year. Rafa can be very proud of his achievements at Wimbledon and he has certainly charmed the English fans these last two weeks.

He received a standing ovation for his impressive display in the final and Federer had only praise for his greatest rival, "It was high class tennis and I really enjoyed it. It's a great tournament for Rafael. It's a fantastic effort, so congratulations." Rafa was very pleased with his display and excited about how well he had performed in the final. He was so jovial as to even try to steal Federer's trophy on his lap of honour. "Federer is unbelievable," Rafa conceded to Sue Barker after the match.

"This is a difficult surface and I played my best tennis, best tournament here this year. I improved a lot this year, so I'm very happy for that. I hope to come back to this final and win." Well done Rafa!

Written by, Kate Flory

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