Rafael Nadal of Spain added an Olympic tennis gold to the French Open and Wimbledon titles he has won this year, powering to a 6-3 7-6 6-3 victory over Chile’s Fernando Gonzalez in the men’s singles. Nadal was simply red hot in the first set but got lucky in the second when Gonzalez, who stood toe-to-toe with the 22-year-old tyro, fluffed an easy backhand volley on set point. The ruthless Nadal needed no second invitation and moved in for the kill as Gonzalez began to buckle. Gonzalez gamely hung on at 2-5 in the third set, saving three match points, but it was only delaying the inevitable and Nadal converted his fourth chance in the next game.
Lo spagnolo Rafael Nadal batte il cileno Gonzales in tre set e conferma il suo periodo d’oro, dopo i successi al Roland Garros e a Wimbledon. Nel singolare femminile trionfa la Dementieva sulla Safina, terza la Zvonareva. Va alle sorelle Williams il torneo di doppio
Rafael Nadal ended Roger Federer’s five-year reign as king of Wimbledon with a 6-4 6-4 6-7 6-7 9-7 victory in one of the most dramatic finals seen at the All England Club. The 22-year-old Nadal survived an incredible Federer fightback to become the first Spaniard to win the grasscourt grand slam since Manuel Santana in 1966. He is also the first man since Bjorn Borg in 1980 to win the French Open and Wimbledon in the same year. After two rain interruptions the players returned to court for a third time with light fading fast and in a nerve-shredding finale the contest ended with Nadal collapsing to the dusty baseline after a Federer forehand struck the net.
Dopo cinque titoli consecutivi sull’erba inglese, Federer perde contro lo spagnolo Nadal in 4 ore e 48 minuti. Lo svizzero perde i primi due set, rimonta, annulla tre match point ma poi deve arrendersi a uno strepitoso Nadal: 9-7 al quinto. Match più volte sospeso per pioggia.
Tennis Wimbledon 2008 Highlights of the day (Day 13)
Rafael Nadal claimed a historic fourth consecutive French Open title after crushing world number one Roger Federer 6-1 6-3 6-0 in the Roland Garros final. The 22-year-old Spaniard, who did not drop a set the entire tournament, matches Bjorn Borg’s record of four successive Grand Slam crowns in Paris.
Una partita per entrare nella storia, chiunque la vincesse. E nella storia questa volta c’è entrato il marziano Rafael Nadal, che ha vinto per la quarta volta consecutiva il Roland Garros surclassando in finale un Roger Federer reso praticamente impotente dalle giocate dello spagnolo (6-1 6-3 6-0 il punteggio maturato in appena un’ora e 48 minuti).
