TENNIS: Johnny Wattersonhas memories of a Wimbledon final to match the epic between John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg in 1980

YOU DON'T expect Wimbledon finals to be spoken about with the same degree of astonishment and reverential awe several months after the two participants have walked off court.

You don't expect the whiff of majesty and intensity that Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal gave off on a July evening over almost seven rain-interrupted hours on Centre Court to linger far into winter and even now into the year ahead.

The 2008 tennis year will be remembered for Nadal's triumph in the London gloaming as Federer's cross-court forehand caught the net at 21.15pm to deny him his sixth consecutive title and hand the Spaniard his first Grand Slam outside of Roland Garros.

As the season advanced the Swiss number one gleaned some consolation at the US Open where he won his 13th Grand Slam title and fifth straight Open with the demolition of Scotland's, Andy Murray, in less than two hours. The quiet genius was still at work, when the world had momentarily thought that Nadal's defeat had crushed him.

If there is anything to take out of tennis in 2008, it is that Federer lives despite the concussive ability of Nadal's huge game to knock any player off court. The rivalry that people had begged for since Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe left the scene is alive and well.

It was also the year of the emergence of Nadal as a player who could win outside of the French Open crucible and the early part of the year was about his possibilities and his limitations.

Grass no longer held the fear that it once did for the clay court master and his run to the Wimbledon final in 2007 suggested that he was becoming more than comfortable on the quicker surface. A year later he arrived in London as French champion having again dominated Federer in the final. Transition was the issue.

But this time Nadal had more swagger and clearly more intent. Federer, as usual, arrived from Halle and like a lord arriving down to his country mansion for the summer the Wimbledon doors were flung open and the BBC paid homage. The epic final, for all of its flaws, produced four hours and 48 minutes of play, making it the longest men's singles final of all time. It attracted 12 million viewers in the UK alone.

Billed as the tennis version of a heavyweight title fight, Federer was seeking to add one more to his unbeaten run of 65 matches on grass and in the process become only the second man ever to win the crown six consecutive times and so surpass the watching, expressionless Bjorn Borg in the Royal Box and match William Renshaw, who made that mark in the 1880s.

Prior to this year's final many had considered the greatest match ever played at the All England Club to be John McEnroe's match against Borg back in 1980.

Played between two of the great personalities of the modern game, the emotionless Swede and the temperamental American dished up some of the most sublime tennis ever witnessed. Borg held two match points at 5-4 up in the fourth set which McEnroe saved with diving volleys. Then came the famous tie-breaker.

McEnroe had seven set points and Borg five more match points, McEnroe finally taking it 18-16 to force a fifth set. McEnroe, by his own admission, was exhausted by the emotional and physical strain of the fourth set, and eventually lost the final set 8-6 to give Borg his fifth straight men's singles title. But the length of the 2008 final was only one of the factors that made it bristle with emotion. The consistent quality of the tennis with it twists, the delayed start, the two rain breaks, and the settling darkness as the match closed out also made it a unique sporting drama. At two sets down, 3-3 in the third and Federer 0-40 down it looked as though his SW19 winning streak that stretched back to 2002 had come to an end. In fact it was the beginning.

In an all-out attack Federer battled to win the third set in a tie-break, then the fourth, again on a classic tie-break, Federer recovering from 5-2 down but missing a set point; Nadal then missing two championship points, the second to an outrageous backhand winner from Federer.

No one had come back at Nadal in a Grand Slam from two sets down as Federer had just done. The fourth set ended with the crowd chanting the names of both players. The narrative was one of Nadal willing to rally all night and Federer anxious to finish points as quickly as possible. But overall the Swiss number one converted just one of 13 break points and as the fifth set drew to 7-7 everyone thought they would be back for the completion on Monday.

Three more break points were saved by Federer but he was rocking and Nadal finally landed the knockout blow when the world number one was forced into a forehand error. Nadal then served for the match. Wimbledon had served up another sporting classic.

What We Already Knew

Roger Federer was king of grass, Rafael Nadal the king of clay, but the young pretender, and anything could happen in a Centre Court shoot-out.

What We Learned

Nadal could conquer grass and the king. He was no longer just the master of clay but also now a threat at Wimbledon.

What We Think Might Happen

Because of Nadal's muscular high-powered game, he must stay healthy and will continue to dominate clay. Federer will win Wimbledon again and become the most decorated player in the history of the game.