I have to agree with the jacket thing. That was so horrendously pretentious. It really bugged me...well, that was until I saw the unveiling of the cream cardigan. Then, I was just physically sick. Federer is way too caught up in his image.....

Drew, New Jersey, USA

To Maria
Is it really necessary to make tacky remarks about Federers Jacket? One could wonder about Nadals shorts and why he keeps pulling things from his behind
Cmon both players are fantastic on and of the court and deserve appreciation for their hard work and entertainment they provide for us

Gareth Williams, Powys,

Please let's not talk of downfalls and gun people down (Maria from Sydney), its a sport so values please. I'd settle for any of these two heroes. I'd also like a conclusion in the article that sums up if there is a Nadal or Federer out there for British tennis.... I'd take any of them and djoko too.

Mike Vertigans, Doha, Qatar

This is the downfall of Federer. KING RAFA is the better player and will be no.1 and will win titles for the next 5 years. Roger with his tacky jacket (he wore last year with his personal engraving of 4 wimbledon wins ,UGH) is out. Hail the New King of Tennis-RAFAEL NADAL !

Maria , Sydney, Australia

I wonder if RF had won RGarros and Wimblendon people'd speak if he's more o less good at clay, grass or hard court.
Nadal himself's recognized RF's technique superiority but RN's combination of phisycal-mental strentgh plus technique makes more exciting matches. I don't change spirit for technique.

Sylvia, Barcelona, Spain

Key points in the macth. 2 set RN goes back from 4-2 to win the set. 7 game 3 set, RF save 3 break points. Tie-break. 4 set, RF save 2 MP and win the set. 5 set RF save 15-40 in 6-6, finaly RN breaks RF and goes 8-7. RN and RF both deserve to win this macth.

Ignacio Solozábal, Madrid, Spain

Errrr...the monte carlo masters in .... Barcelonna.... ?

delia, Paris, Fr.

I would also like to voice my agreement with Engel. Nadal was definitely more "mentalistic" than Federer. Right on.

Colin, london, UK

Most amazing thing about Nadal - humility and grace, which contrast starkly with Roger's dark post-match reaction esp. where instead of being thankful for the rainbreak, he grumbled that it didnt help him win the match. Without the rainbreak, Roger would have lost more devastatingly in straight sets

dani, Singapore, Singapore

People thought Nadal would never adjust his game to win a grass-court title. He did. Now lots of folks are bleating on about his poor results on the hard courts. You just watch this guy go out there and adjust his game for the hard courts too.

Martha Stainherger, Houston, USA

The humblest tennis champion I have seen so far is Federer, Nadal had a good exemple to take after not only professionnaly but interpersonnaly ! Nadal has won agaisnt Federer ... but he is way away from RF's professional class !

Adam Carson, London,

spanish and hummility are two things ? it's a Federer inspiration !

alain gallet, Paris,

Though i've been following Nadal's career i think it's not necessary to take side when the epic and unusual circumstances come to the high competitive sport .

Manuel, Barcelona, Spain

Nadal ,he is very amazing and fantastic. their both are playing very well .but this is abouth the mantalistick.Roger he could win but his mentalistic is not that strong as Nadal . Nadal he always keep fight even if he lost the game he never go down.Nadal he is the Rock. AND HE IS CUTE!!!

Engel, GILMER, TEXAS

Could not agree more with the last comment.

Rafa is very humble – a great role model.

Federer was definitely showing signs of arrogance, esp in some of his post-match Wimbledon interviews

They are out there to play tennis - but this aspect is at least equally important.

N S, London, England

Rafa won this year because he raised his game (from the 2007 championship) to another level.
It matters not that Federer was at 90%. (Losers can always make this argument)
What matters is that Rafa did what he needed to do in order to secure the win.
Cheers Rafa!!

Jerry, Chicago, USA

It's evident who has been working harder, physically and mentally, Nadal keeps improving and has a lot further to go, Wimbledon was just the start ! He also has an advantage over Fed, he is much younger, passionate, and energetic.

Meredith, Austin, USA

Well that was an outstanding match Nadal gave an amazing fight and deserved to win just looking how the rain saved an early exit for federer. I think Federer didnt show his potential this time i guess it was the pressure but above all its good for tennis as from now not to expect 1 sided game

StClair, Toronto, Canada

Federer made Nadal look better than he is? Riiiight. Nadal makes Federer look bad by taking him out of his comfort zone. That's why Federer usually produces so many errors against Nadal. And Nadal should have won in four sets but he choked away the 4th set tb on his serve while leading 5-2.

Brian, Boston, USA

The key is the U.S. Open. He will reach the No. 1 during that tournament.

Oliver, Madrid, Spain

Nadal is humble....
For some reasons, I see Federer gets a bit arrogant
But now, he has to prove himself in the US Open
Before that, he has to fight against himself.
It seems that he got nerved by Nadal already

Boy, Sydney, Australia

The thing is Federer made Nadal look much better than he is. Federer was playing at 90% or even less. There were moments when Federer was mentally faltering. To beat a Federer playing below his best, Nadal had to play better than he ever did in his life.

Sampath, Bangalore,

Am a football fanatic from Lagos,but Nadal is my favourite sportman.He is just too good and full of humilty.

ngozi elumeze, lagos, nigeria

Thank goodness I was lucky to see the scintillating epic match.Its so good young people can have positive role models like that whose tenacity , stamina can only stem from the deepest interest in chosen field.So cynicysim feeds negativity,blinds us to the joys of acknowledging the best in others. f

flo Jo, wickford, england

The number of young Britons playing tennis continues to fall because the game is simply too expensive to play in the U.K. My local courts in Wandsworth charge £7.50 per hour to play - how on earth can we get children from less priveliged backgrounds interested in tennis when other sports are free.

K Bomb, London, UK

Rafa makes less mistakes because he puts a lot more spin on the ball. This allows him to hit it higher over the net and still go in giving him a greater margin for error. If Roger wants to make less mistakes he'll need to adapt his game a bit against Nadal - like Nadal has against him.

Pete, London,

Fred from Manchester makes the most perceptive observation of all. Yes, it was indeed the greatest Wimbledon final since 1980 but Federer was below his best in the first two sets during which he missed seven out of eight break points. He will not make so many unforced errors next time.

Jamie Stevenson, London, UK

Why can't people accept the fact that Nadal won and Roger lost. I am sick of all the lame excuses why Federer lost. Nadal won because he was better than Roger. If he loses other matches so what, NADAL WON WIMBLEDON and that is what counts at the moment. Felicitaciones Nadal, you are the best.
Isja

Isja, Oranjestad, Aruba

History repeats. Federer is desdending from the top of the mountain. Nadal is ascending to the top. When both climbers meet on their respective ways, they make History.

Verisimo Vizoso Feijoo, Marbella, Spain

Mentally Nadal "owns" Federer. It's that simple. Also: there is no real weakness in his game witch is something that cannot be said of fededer's backhand.
I think that it is obvious that he already is "the" better player. It is sad (for those like me who like federer) but it is undeniable.

faja, Lisbon, Portugal

Amazing match when Federer looked down and out. Federer needs to push Nadal away form his back hand and on to his for hand. Federer is not down and out as the match showed. 6 titles in a row is a tall order. Nadal has only one and I cannot see him getting 5 in a row. Federer will be back.

Jeanette , High Wycombe, UK

To Jim Bean: Who can think now about Joe Tsonga? Oh, please do not disturb us.

Lina, London,

Regrettably tennis is seen as an elitist sport in this country with a signifiganctly non masculine appeal.

In addition the participants seem little more than grumpy egomaniacs running round in their pants for a living.

With the exception of the occasional match, I am glad we are useless at it.

Xavier Bacon, Oxford,

Local authorities in the U.K do not encourage youngsters to play tennis by charging a ' fee' to use the courts or where often there is never a net in place. Why not a Government initiative to waive fees nationally - prior to the Olympics.

Al Williams, Carmarthen, Wales

I think Rafa right now is just a touch mentally stronger than Fed. Whatsmore, I think Fed is only playing at 90%.
There were times during the final when Fed was the stronger - the early part of the second set and parts of the fourth. Anticipate tremedous stuff between these two in the future.

Ollie, Mac Fields,

It is clear that Roger makes more mistakes than Rafa when playing him - he would still be better than Nadal if he made less! - for example, in the Wimbledon final, how many unforced errors were attributed to each player? The key question is - can Roger reduce the unforced errors when playing Rafa?

John, St Savinien, France

And yet, have you all forgotten how Joe Tsonga blew away Nadal in Australia at the beginning of this year ? Fed would do well to view that match

jim beam, geneva,

I think Federer is still slightly better on grass In the first 2 sets he had more opportunities to break but seemed to suffer a mental block perhaps from all those defeats to Nadal on clay. He then seemed to overcome this and gain the upper hand which will give him confidence when they meet again.

Gareth Williams, Powys,

While it is sad to see Federer fall from his perch at Wimbledon, I think the coming years could bring exciting Tennis. I don't know if Federer can muster up enough will to keep improving. I can see Nadal being No.1 for some time to come. I am afraid we have seen the best from Federer.

Jay, Chennai, India

Having meet more times on clay where Rafa is King than other surfaces has given him a slight mental edge over Roger Hopefully now they will meet more on other surfaces and we can look forward to some great tennis by 2 great players both deserving of the no 1 spot.

Gareth Williams, Powys,

It is difficult to see N play better than in the final. It is easy to see Federer play much better - he used to - just look at the unforced errors. It's one thing to defend break points with aces than to return lame backhands into the net. Whether Fed has the will to improve is the question now.

Fred Freeloader, Manchester,

Rafael Nadal has it all. What more can you ask for? Consistency,power and grace. What amazes me is he is still improving, game after game. He has not yet reached his peak and he already achieved so much.
He is awesome as a person, full of humilty. Tennis world is so lucky to have Nadal as its own

Earl Decena, Manila, Philippines

SMALL POINT Rafa continues to improve all the time. I find it difficult to imagine that Roger will improve at the same speed if at all. Concerning the hard court season. There were many who wrote Rafa off as being unable to complete Wimbledon. So, therefore, all you nay sayers watch out.

Grahame, Charlottetown, Canada

Djokovic and family should indeed learn from Nadal and Toni, absolute class. I was hoping Federer would win, but Nadal's play as well as his and his family's graciousness kept me from taking sides too much - Nadal definitely represents tennis well, and deserved the win.

S. K., lyon,

How Nadal plays on the hard courts will certainly be interesting. But he has won the two most prestigious titles of the year, and played some great tennis. He is this year's best player. A good end to the year for Federer won't change that.

Next year is the one which will define their rivalry .

Eoin, Limerick, Ireland

I stayed up to 6.30am to watch this amazing match. Well done Rafa, a deserved victory, but Fed looked pretty angry at losing, I wouldn't write him off just yet.

Matt, Melbourne, Australia

The second half of the year is played on hard courts. Nadal is barely in the 10 best hard-court players. Difficult to see him doing much until the clay court season starts again.

Paul Francis, Brisbane, Australia

P-l-e-a-s-e..... give me a break. Nadal is not going anywhere. federer will beat him when they meet next.

Marco, Barca, Spain