The match, delayed twice by rain, lasted four hours, 48 minutes, making it the longest final in Wimbledon history.

Nadal won the epic match despite blowing a two-set advantage, two championship points and a 5-2 edge in the third set.

The complete scores were 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 6-7 (6-8), 9-7.

"I tried everything," Federer said during a television interview. "Rafa is a deserving champion."

"It's impossible to explain what I felt," Nadal said. "I had a lot of chances, but Roger is the greatest player in the world. He's still the best."

Nadal became the first Spaniard to win Wimbledon since Manolo Santana in 1966, having lost to Federer in the previous two finals, and is the first man to win both Wimbledon and the French Open in the same season since Bjorn Borg in 1980.