rogerfederer.com - Roger loses thriller-final

Roger loses thriller-final

Roger's reign in Wimbledon has been interrupted today as he lost to Spain's Rafael Nadal 4-6, 4-6 ,7-6, 7-6 and 7-9.

"I tried everything - but Rafa is a deserving champion. It's a pity I couldn't win it in the circumstances but I'll be back," Roger said.

It was a most thrilling match, with Roger recovering from two sets down to force a fifth but he was eventually beaten in a near five-hour epic that was twice delayed by rain. Both players showed magnificent tennis but Roger failed to grasp several opportunities for re-breaks. Still he made Nadal work hard and was clearly in no mood to surrender his title, playing strong to win both tie-breaks.

And so it came down to the fifth set, which is not ended by a tie-break in Wimbledon, should the score come to 6-6. Trading blows like champion boxers, Nadal finally converted his fourth break point chance at 7-7 to set up the opportunity to serve out for the Championship. On his fourth match point, he forced one final error from Roger, and collapsed to the turf in triumph.

Our champ, who converted only one of 13 break points in the match, fell short in his bid to set two historic landmarks: He failed to surpass Björn Borg by winning a sixth consecutive title or match Willie Renshaw's all-time record of six in a row from 1881-86. Nadal won his fifth Grand Slam title, adding to his four consecutive French Open championships. Roger, meanwhile, remains two shy of Pete Sampras' record of 14 Grand Slam wins and still has a lead of 545 points in the ranking.