'I was so nervous' - Nadal recalls 2008 Wimbledon final against Federer
In a recent interview, Rafael Nadal recalled when he won his maiden Wimbledon title in 2008 defeating Roger Federer 9-7 in the fifth set. Nadal had lost the 2007 and 2006 finals to Federer too. "I was so nervous obviously in that moment. It was always my dream to win here. So finally when it happened, it was the most emotional moment in my career. Everybody knows how important was for me to win here after losing two finals in a row, and my family and friends had been supporting me a lot all my life and for me it was very emotional to see all of them. That moment I did not realize the royal couple were there, so I said, Okay, I am going! Just to say thank for being there. It was really really dark, probably after that game the match would stop and the image of all the lights flashing is unbelievable."
Federer also recalled that match: "What a match. It was one of those moments you want to be part of, unfortunately I was on the losing side. I always thought that maybe there should not be a loser in a match like that, there was so much on the line, I was going for my sixth Wimbledon in a row, Rafa was going for his first Wimbledon ever and it was so close the couple of years before that because we played the five-setter in 2007 and four in 2006. We played three Wimbledon finals in a row and here we are playing an amazing match, I was down two sets to love, saved a match point in the fourth, pushed it to five, it got really dark and late at the very end of the match and he got the better of me. The two sets to love lead for him was too much of a big to comeback against but he did well, he improved so much his style over the years for not just being a clay-court player but being an overall champion and he deserved it and it was a great one for him to win."
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2WdyQXR
No comments