-Fired up Nadal whips Berdych to reclaim Wimbledon crown
LONDON, (Reuters) – So eager was Rafael Nadal to reclaim his Wimbledon title yesterday that he entered Centre Court with his racket already cocked in his left hand and the unwitting Czech Tomas Berdych lined up in his sights.
Luckily Berdych, slayer of six-times champion Roger Federer in a seismic quarter-final shock and Novak Djokovic in the semis, did not turn around as he emerged blinking on to the hallowed green turf for his first grand slam final.
Had the 12th seed done so he might have opted to grab his kit bag and head back in the opposite direction.
As it was, the 24-year-old dutifully stepped into the Spaniard’s line of fire and lasted just two hours and 13 minutes before being cut down 6-3 7-5 6-4 meaning he has now lost his last 17 sets against Nadal.
For the second time in three years, Nadal completed the French Open/Wimbledon double that since the days of Bjorn Borg had seemed beyond even the game’s greatest players.
“It didn’t happen since Borg, so now the last three years it happen twice,” Nadal, who could only watch on last year as Federer completed the feat, said. “How crazy is the life.”
Now cemented as the world’s best player and with eight grand slam titles under his belt, the Mallorcan powerhouse seems poised to dominate the men’s game for the foreseeable future.
SWASHBUCKLING TENNIS
The knee tendinitis which prevented him defending his title last year and still flares up occasionally is a cause for concern, but against Berdych he looked unstoppable, even if he was not required to play the kind of swashbuckling tennis he produced when beating Federer in an epic 2008 final or the brilliance of his semi-final victory over Andy Murray.
As he whipped a forehand past Berdych on match point, he fell to his back on the baseline and after consoling his dazed opponent at the net performed a playful forward roll.
“I love you Rafa” boomed one male voice early in the match. Nadal’s celebrations showed he is still head over heels in love with a tournament that used to fill Spaniards with dread.
“After not an easy year for me to be back at my favourite tournament in the world here and play well another time, and not only play well, but to finish with the trophy is amazing for me,” Nadal told a packed news conference.
Nadal, who went 11 months without a title before his brutish powers returned to complete an unprecedented claycourt sweep in Monte Carlo, Rome, Madrid and Roland Garros, is the only Spanish man to win Wimbledon twice.
He is also tied in the grand slam winners list with the likes of Andre Agassi, Jimmy Connors and Ivan Lendl, the last Czech to reach the men’s singles final here in 1987.
Sadly for Berdych, he fared no better than Lendl who was also beaten in straight sets by Boris Becker and Pat Cash in consecutive finals.
GENUINE THREAT
But after reaching the semis of the French Open and now this spectacular run at Wimbledon, Berdych will rise to number eight in the world and must be considered a genuine threat in grand slams.
It was not to be yesterday though as he never really managed to unwind his 1.95m frame. The searing pace he generated from the baseline against Federer, and the distinctive “gunshot” crack of his shots was missing.
Berdych knew his only chance was to play risk-tennis but with a capricious wind whipping up the dust on the worn Centre Court, he seemed to lack trust in his biggest weapons and it was Nadal who was the aggressor.
That said, even the Spaniard was a little slow to load his bullets as the first six games went with serve.
He struck the first blow in the seventh game when he fired a fizzing forehand past Berdych after the Czech took a little too much care with a volley, to earn three break points and converted the second with a powerful backhand return.
A second break earned Nadal the set as Berdych began to buckle but, rather surprisingly, he then offered up three break points at the start of the second set, only for the Czech to fluff his one chance of establishing a foothold.
Nadal’s sliding serves into the body of Berdych and also out to the backhand prevented any counter-attacks from across the net and although he hung on grimly, there was a sense of inevitability as the Spaniard bounded back to the baseline to receive in game 12.
A couple of minutes later he had a two-set lead as embattled Berdych dropped serve to love.
After three consecutive classic men’s singles finals had gone the full distance, Nadal was in no mood to have this contest extended any longer than necessary.
“Fight Tomas” yelled one fan deep in the third set, but Berdych was a spent force and two stinging Nadal forehands put him out of his misery.