Rafael Nadal Wins Mens Title at Wimbledon 2010

In 2008, Rafa Nadal became just the second player in history to win both the Roland Garros and Wimbledon Championships in the same year.  Bjorn Borg first accomplished the feat in 1980.  Last year Roger Federer became the third man to perform the clay court, grass court sweep.  This year Rafa Nadal became the first player to execute the sweep twice.

World number one, Rafa Nadal, took everything the tour’s best players could throw at him and sealed his 8^th Grand Slam Championship with a solid 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 sweep of Czechoslovakia’s Tomas Berdych.  The 24-year old runner-up has enjoyed a fine season thus far and moves to his highest ranking ever at number 8.

Once again, the Spaniard displayed the incredible foot speed and presence under pressure that typifies the on-court persona that intimidates the game’s strongest players.  Much like the women’s champion, Serena Williams, Rafa can raise his game in the big moments and separate himself from the field.

Since April 2010, Nadal has been on a winning streak that would be a successful career for most tour players.  During the stretch, he has won 31 of 32 matches, notched his fifth Roland Garros title and his second Wimbledon crown and swept the clay clout titles.  The Spaniard has moved back to the top ranking, earned more than $5 million and has showed his skeptics that he is not a clay court specialist.

“It was a great two weeks for me, but he was really very strong today,” said Berdych.  “He’s showed in the last few months that he’s really the champion and he just deserved to win today.”

With 448 tour victories, Rafa knows how to finish off matches.  The Champion did not lose his serve on Sunday and after a fast start by Berdych, the Spaniard seemed to zone in on the 6’5” Czech at every turn.  Berdych had 13 aces to Nadal’s five but Rafa won 77% of his first serves as Tomas won 73%.  Most importantly, Rafa won 4 of 6 break points and won 93 total points compared to 78 for Tomas.  Berdych was unable to convert any of his four break point chances.

The 12th seeded Czech had an impressive run through some of the game’s biggest names in reaching the finals.  He followed his quarterfinal upset of top seed Roger Federer with a smooth demolition of 3^rd seeded Novak Djokovic to reach the finals.  Nadal’s toughest match was with 4^th seeded Scotsman Andy Murray.  As with Berdych, the better the competition, the better Rafa plays.  Nadal exploited Murray’s inconsistency along the baseline.

The win evened Nadal’s final round record at Wimbledon as he dropped title matches to Federer in 2006 and 2007.  The Spaniard has now won 14 consecutive matches at the All England Club.

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