Salute to the king and queen...

It was billed as the best Grand Slam of them all and last weekend, Wimbledon didn't disappoint.

It played host to two of the best finals you are likely to have ever witnessed.

The rumours that the Venus and Serena Williams final would be decided by the family was dispelled by the first serve of the match that whizzed past Serena so fast it could have blown away a few of the fan's hats.

The sisters then set about bashing the ball with total commitment until finally Venus emerged a 7-5, 6-4 Wimbledon winner.

If Saturday's women's final could be called great, there are no words to describe the action the following day.

World No2 Rafael Nadal dethroned the King of Grass – five-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer – in a match that will be etched into the memory of every viewer for a long time to come.

Nadal's 6-4, 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-7(8), 9-7 win was hailed as the "best Wimbledon final ever" and the "greatest match of the century". One thing is for sure though – you are not likely to witness a greater contest this year than that final.

Rafael Nadal

2003

At 17 years of age Rafael Nadal announced himself in the tennis world by becoming the second youngest player to be ranked inside the top 100.

Making his Wimbledon debut, he then became the youngest male player to reach the third round since 16-year-old Boris Becker in 1984. However, the Spaniard acknowledged that his then one-dimensional game was more suited to clay than the fast grass courts of Wimbledon.



2005

After an unfortunate 2004 where he missed most of the season, including Wimbledon, through injury, Nadal entered the All England Lawn Tennis Club on a high.

The Spaniard had just won the French Open, his first Grand Slam, in his debut appearance at Roland Garros. He was brought back down to earth at Wimbledon exiting in the second round, but still ended the year as World No2.



2006

The Spaniard's high energy game was reaping the rewards and his rivalry with World No1 Roger Federer, which had begun the previous year, begun to gain momentum.

After defending his French Open title by beating Federer in the final, the Swiss Master returned the favour in the Wimbledon final by beating Nadal in four sets.

The No2 seed set about evolving his game for grass at an even higher pace.

2008

It was third time lucky for Nadal at Wimbledon as the Spaniard once again met Roger Federer in the final.

After the close 2007 final everyone expected a hard-fought game and the quality of tennis didn't disappoint. Nadal's epic 6-4, 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-7(8), 9-7 four hour and 48 minutes win was labelled as the "greatest game of the century" and it marked the end of Federer's SW19 reign.



2007

Nadal had become Roger Federer's greatest nemesis and struck the early blow when he defeated the World No1 in a "battle of the surfaces" exhibition match in which half the court was clay, the other half grass.

The Spaniard then secured a hat-trick of French Open crowns, once again beating Federer in the final. Reaching the Wimbledon final, he lost in a hard-fought five-set match to the Swiss.

Venus Williams

2000

After missing the first four months of the year through injury, Venus Williams came to Wimbledon still a relatively unknown factor in the tennis world.

All that changed at SW19 as the 21-year old captured her first singles Grand Slam title defeating World No1 Martina Hingis in the quarter-finals, sister Serena in the semi-finals and defending champion Lindsay Davenport in the final.



2001

Everyone at the All England Lawn Tennis Club knew who Venus was this year – more so because she had won the US Open and the Olympic gold medal following her Wimbledon triumph in 2000.

The defending champion swept to a second Wimbledon title defeating third-seeded Lindsay Davenport in the semi-finals and Justine Henin in the final. Later that year, the American went on to defend her US Open crown as well.



2005

Venus made it a hat-trick of Wimbledon titles by first dispatching defending champion Maria Sharapova in the semi-finals and then top seeded Lindsay Davenport 6-4, 6-7(4), 5-4 in the longest women's final at Wimbledon.

In the process the American became the lowest ranked women seed (No16) to win at the All England Club and it was also the fifth time Venus had appeared in the final in the past six years.




2007

Entering Wimbledon ranked at an innocuous No31 in the world, Venus was within two points of a first round exit before regrouping and romping to a fourth title with victory over Marion Bartoli in the final.

She broke her 2005 record to become the lowest ranked women to win Wimbledon and joined Billie Jean King (6), Steffi Graf (7) and Martina Navratilova (9) on the all-time winning list.



2008

Venus was completely unstoppable dispatching sister Serena 7-5, 6-4 in the final without dropping a set in the entire tournament.

It was her fifth title and a case of third time lucky for the older Williams sibling, who had lost to Serena in the Wimbledon finals of 2002 and 2003.

Amazingly three hours later Serena and Venus clinched the Wimbledon doubles title as well – their third.



That match...

After four hours and 48 minutes of tennis, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer walked off the court to the awe of millions.

The two best players in the world had fought tooth and nail for every last point, playing sublime tennis with contrasting styles that left the spectators breathless.

And Nadal was on top with an exhilarating 6-4, 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-7(8), 9-7 win.

Never since 1877 and the first Wimbledon had anyone seen something as spectacular. In fact, it could be suggested that never in the history of tennis has anyone witnessed an epic battle that good.

Both past and current players dished out the praises on witnessing the final.

"This is the greatest match I've ever seen," said John McEnroe, a three-time Wimbledon champion.

While German legend Boris Becker added: "I've never seen a final that was so nail-biting, but the right player won and it signals a changing of the guard."

British newspapers hailed it as the "greatest game of the century" and few who witnessed the match would argue.

Nadal was simply awesome and a deserved winner. The Spaniard ended Federer's reign at Wimbledon – although the World No1 put up an almighty fight.

It looks all doom and gloom for Federer – the man who has been proclaimed as the greatest tennis player ever. At the moment he can't even hold on to the tag of being the greatest player of his era.

The Spaniard leads their head-to-head series 12-6, including 10-4 in tournament finals and 4-2 in Grand Slam finals.

And so the mantle passes to Nadal – the new King of Wimbledon...

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