John MacEnroe called it, “The greatest match I’ve ever seen.” I agree. Rafael Nadal’s 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-7 (8), 9-7 win over Roger Federer in the 2008 Men’s Wimbledon Finals on Sunday will go down as one of the best tennis matches in history. Nadal and Federer played the highest quality tennis for nearly five hours as they both fought for victory in the closely matched contest.

I was also impressed with each player’s comments immediately following the game. When asked to share his thoughts on the match, Federer responded: “Yeah, I tried everything. Got a little late and everything, but look, Raf is a deserving champ, and he just played fantastic today.” And when asked what it was like beating Federer on center court in one of the greatest finals ever, Nadal was quick to credit Roger: “He’s still number one. He’s still the best. He’s still five times champion here, and right now I have one.”

Graceful losers and humble winners are hard to come by these days, but Federer showed a lot of grace after the most difficult loss of his career, and Nadal showed a lot of humility after the most important win of his career. Both of these guys have a lot of class, and I can’t think of two tennis players I would rather see at numbers one and two in the world right now.

Related articles:

• Roger v Rafa – the best final ever?
• Nadal Ends Federer’s Reign at Wimbledon