By Martyn Herman
LONDON, July 4 (Reuters) - So eager was Rafael Nadal to
reclaim his Wimbledon title on Sunday that he entered Centre
Court with his racket already cocked in his left hand and the
unwitting Czech Tomas Berdych lined up in his sights.
Luckily Berdych, slayer of six-times champion Roger Federer
in a seismic quarter-final shock and Novak Djokovic in the
semis, did not turn around as he emerged blinking on to the
hallowed green turf for his first grand slam final.
Had the 12th seed done so he might have opted to grab his
kit bag and head back in the opposite direction.
As it was, the 24-year-old dutifully stepped into the
Spaniard's line of fire and lasted just two hours and 13 minutes
before being cut down 6-3 7-5 6-4 meaning he has now lost his
last 17 sets against Nadal.
For the second time in three years, Nadal completed the
French Open/Wimbledon double that since the days of Bjorn Borg
had seemed beyond even the game's greatest players.
"It didn't happen since Borg, so now the last three years it
happen twice," Nadal, who could only watch on last year as
Federer completed the feat, said. "How crazy is the life."
Now cemented as the world's best player and with eight grand
slam titles under his belt, the Mallorcan powerhouse seems
poised to dominate the men's game for the foreseeable future.
SWASHBUCKLING TENNIS
The knee tendinitis which prevented him defending his title
last year and still flares up occasionally is a cause for
concern, but against Berdych he looked unstoppable, even if he
was not required to play the kind of swashbuckling tennis he
produced when beating Federer in an epic 2008 final or the
brilliance of his semi-final victory over Andy Murray.
As he whipped a forehand past Berdych on match point, he
fell to his back on the baseline and after consoling his dazed
opponent at the net performed a playful forward roll.
"I love you Rafa" boomed one male voice early in the match.
Nadal's celebrations showed he is still head over heels in love
with a tournament that used to fill Spaniards with dread.
"After not an easy year for me to be back at my favourite
tournament in the world here and play well another time, and not
only play well, but to finish with the trophy is amazing for
me," Nadal told a packed news conference.
Nadal, who went 11 months without a title before his brutish
powers returned to complete an unprecedented claycourt sweep in
Monte Carlo, Rome, Madrid and Roland Garros, is the only Spanish
man to win Wimbledon twice.
He is also tied in the grand slam winners list with the
likes of Andre Agassi, Jimmy Connors and Ivan Lendl, the last
Czech to reach the men's singles final here in 1987.
Sadly for Berdych, he fared no better than Lendl who was
also beaten in straight sets by Boris Becker and Pat Cash in
consecutive finals.
GENUINE THREAT
But after reaching the semis of the French Open and now this
spectacular run at Wimbledon, Berdych will rise to number eight
in the world and must be considered a genuine threat in grand
slams.
It was not to be on Sunday though as he never really managed
to unwind his 1.95m frame. The searing pace he generated from
the baseline against Federer, and the distinctive "gunshot"
crack of his shots was missing.
Berdych knew his only chance was to play risk-tennis but
with a capricious wind whipping up the dust on the worn Centre
Court, he seemed to lack trust in his biggest weapons and it was
Nadal who was the aggressor.
That said, even the Spaniard was a little slow to load his
bullets as the first six games went with serve.
He struck the first blow in the seventh game when he fired a
fizzing forehand past Berdych after the Czech took a little too
much care with a volley, to earn three break points and
converted the second with a powerful backhand return.
A second break earned Nadal the set as Berdych began to
buckle but, rather surprisingly, he then offered up three break
points at the start of the second set, only for the Czech to
fluff his one chance of establishing a foothold.
Nadal's sliding serves into the body of Berdych and also out
to the backhand prevented any counter-attacks from across the
net and although he hung on grimly, there was a sense of
inevitability as the Spaniard bounded back to the baseline to
receive in game 12.
A couple of minutes later he had a two-set lead as embattled
Berdych dropped serve to love.
After three consecutive classic men's singles finals had
gone the full distance, Nadal was in no mood to have this
contest extended any longer than necessary.
"Fight Tomas" yelled one fan deep in the third set, but
Berdych was a spent force and two stinging Nadal forehands put
him out of his misery.
(Editing by Alison Wildey
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