Nadal reclaims Wimbledon crown in style

LONDON: Rafael Nadal reclaimed the Wimbledon men's singles title on Sunday, putting in a classy performance to beat Tomas Berdych 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 in the final.

In securing his eighth Grand Slam, Nadal went level with Andre Agassi, Jimmy Connors, Ivan Lendl, Fred Perry and Ken Rosewall.

And, with Switzerland's Roger Federer showing signs of weakness, Nadal could easily go on to eclipse their efforts.

Furthermore, the “King of Clay” underlined his mastery on all surfaces by completing his second Roland Garros-Wimbledon back-to-back double, winning both finals in three sets.

Nadal went into the match with a 7-3 head-to-head lead, having won their last six clashes, all in straight sets.

Undefeated at Wimbledon since the 2007 final, Nadal won the 2008 title by beating Federer in an epic five-set tussle, but could not defend it last year due to the chronic knee problems that he is still not rid of.

Straightforward win

But this was a much more straightforward victory than his extraordinary battle with Federer here two years ago.

After losing the first set on a single break of serve, Berdych tried to hit straight back in the first game of the second set, and earned himself a break point.

It took Nadal 10 minutes, four deuces and another two break points to see off the challenge and the Spaniard never looked back from there.

Serving at 6-5 down, Berdych, could not find the power or the accuracy to put away a succession of chipped returns, gifting three set points to Nadal and losing it when he hit a forehand just wide.

In the third set, Berdych had an excellent chance to get back into the game when he got ahead in the third game. He fashioned a break point but lost it when he hit the net. Nadal held on and the games went with serve till 5-4 Nadal, leaving Berdych serving to stay in the final.

The game went to deuce and Nadal had championship point when his opponent missed a forehand, then reclaimed the Wimbledon crown with a passing shot. Austria's Jurgen Melzer and Germany's Philipp Petzschner won the doubles title with a 6-1, 7-5, 7-5 victory over Sweden's Robert Lindstedt and Romania's Horia Tecau on Saturday.

It was the first time since 2005 that an unseeded pair had reached the Wimbledon final.

Petzschner was the first German to reach a Grand Slam men's doubles final since David Prinosil at the Australian Open in 2001, and the first at Wimbledon since Michael Stich won it in 1992 — the only previous time that a German had won a men's doubles Grand Slam title in the Open Era.

Double blow for Zvonareva

Vera Zvonareva was left distraught and broke down in tears on court after losing two Wimbledon finals in one day on Saturday.

The Russian, who was outplayed by Serena Williams in the singles final, later lost in the ladies' doubles final, again in straight sets.

Zvonareva cried after she and compatriot Elena Vesnina lost to Vania King of the United States and Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan 7-6(6), 6-2.

She was the sixth woman in the last 20 years to reach the Wimbledon singles and doubles finals in the same year.

Besides Venus and Serena Williams, the others were Lindsay Davenport, Jana Novotna and Arantxa Sanchez Vicario.

But only Novotna in 1993 had previously lost both.

Shvedova is the first player from Kazakhstan to win a Wimbledon title.

King and Shvedova are only the fifth unseeded pair to claim the title. The final was only the third in Wimbledon history, and the first since 1975, to feature two unseeded pairings. — Agencies

Finals: Men: 2-Rafael Nadal bt 12-Tomas Berdych 6-3, 7-5, 6-4. Doubles: Jurgen Melzer & Philipp Petzschner bt 16-Robert Lindstedt & Horia Tecau 6-1, 7-5, 7-5.

Women: Doubles: Vania King & Yaroslava Shvedova bt Elena Vesnina & Vera Zvonareva 7-6(6), 6-2.

Boys: 13-Marton Fucsovics bt Benjamin Mitchell 6-4, 6-4.

Girls: 9-Kristyna Pliskova bt 10-Sachie Ishizu 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 . AFP