JO: “At this point all bets were off. The momentum was with Federer because he won the fourth set. The story was with Federer because he was a five-time champion, but there was still the unknown about what Nadal would offer.” He had played so well up until then. Only an idiot would have written him off, even though Federer served first.
At 7:53 p.m., when the decider was tied at 2-2, it rained again. The players started walking and the covers came over. It looked like they would come back on Monday to finish it, but it would prove to be a short break. Half an hour later it started again, realistically there was a maximum of an hour of playable light left. The quality and intensity never let up, the two men throwing everything they had at each other. It was a heartbreaking thing.
JM: “I was lucky that people talked about my match with Bjorn in 1980 as one of the greatest matches. But I watched the 2008 final, sat back and said to myself, 'This is the best match I've ever seen at Wimbledon.' .'
“Towards the end I said next to nothing in the commentary box. I thought what I saw was great and the players rose to the occasion – everyone watching knew it was going to be a game people would be talking about.” That's an easy job for generations to come, though you watch a game like this and put your arms back.
The game entered the fifth hour. With the score at 4-4, Federer fought for a break point, but Nadal saved him with a big forehand and a subsequent smash. “Roger, Roger” and “Rafa, Rafa” rang out at the same time. With the score at 5:5, Nadal got to 15:40 with Federer's serve, but the Swiss fended him off. The light quickly faded. As the clock passed 9 p.m., Nadal grabbed a thrilling point that he managed to hold at 7-7 – Federer somehow fired a fierce Nadal shot onto the baseline, but the Spaniard parried away a forehand and celebrated as it did Adrenaline pumped through his body in a giant fist pump. Should they stop there?
TT: I was sent out to the match between Charlie Pasarell and Pancho Gonzales in 1969 (the second longest singles match in Wimbledon history) at around 9:10 p.m. and you could barely see the cue balls. The supervisor couldn't believe they were still playing. It was the same that day. I went down around 9:00 p.m. and thought, “They’re going to have to call that soon.”
JO: “I always think that television gives the wrong impression because of the filters. You had to be there to realize how grim things were in those last few games. When the score was 7-7, it was absolutely clear that there were still two games left. They wanted to. It would have been unfair to call them back with a serve or stay in the game.
PM: “Apparently it got dark and the Hawk-Eye went off because of the darkness. None of the players mentioned it before the end of the game. I think the players were so excited that they didn't even notice. We agreed with the referee, Andrew Jarrett, that we had to end the game at 8-8.
With his serve at 7:7, Federer finally faltered. Although he saved three break points in the game, he was unable to fend off a fourth as a forehand floated wide and Nadal had the decisive break. After the break, Nadal came out to serve for the championship, which would definitely be the last game of the day. He took his third championship point, but Federer raged towards the end of the light, firing a backhand return that Nadal could barely manage with the racquet. It would be his last salvo – two points later he sent a forehand into the net and Nadal fell to the grass in celebration. Finally, after four hours and 48 minutes of riveting theater, Wimbledon had a new champion.
