Nadal storms past Berdych for second Wimbledon title

Published>Sun, Jul 04 10 09:36 PM

London, July 4 (DPA) Rafael Nadal stormed to his second Wimbledon title in three years, hammering Czech Tomas Berdych 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 to win an eighth Grand Slam title Sunday and solidify his grip on the world number one slot.

The Spanish second seed ruthlessly dismissed the conqueror of six-time winner Roger Federer and Serb Novak Djokovic in his previous two matches, with Berdych going down in 2 hours 12 minutes.

Nadal's comprehensive victory was his seventh in succession against 12th seed Berdych, who will move back into the ATP Top 10 on a career-high number eight ranking Monday.

The Spaniard has now won two of the three majors this season after lifting his fifth at Roland Garros in June.

Nadal stands 47-5 on the season with five titles - he now has 41 overall - after going 10 months without one until starting the spring clay season with another Monte Carlo crown.

Nadal got the measure of Berdych mid-way through the opening set, breaking the Czech for 4-3 and engineering his way to the early lead with a second break, 6-3.

The start of the second produced a long game, with Nadal saving three break points to hold. He then decoded the Berdych serve in the final game, breaking to take a two-set lead from the Czech's forehand wide.

In the third, Nadal kept Berdych under pressure throughout, forcing the Czech into errors in the tenth game and profitting from the ensuing match point, which he converted with a whipping forehand winner.

Nadal's trophy came two years after he outlasted Federer in a five-set drama to earn the 2008 title. He did not play in 2009. The Spaniard will lead number two Djokovic by a big margin on the ATP, with Federer down to third for the first time since 2003.

The winner has now claimed his last 14 Wimbledon matches and becomes the only Spaniard in history to win twice at the All England club after contesting his fourth consecutive final.

Berdych was playing for the first time on the Grand Slam big stage after first achieving a semi-final at a major at the French Open a month ago and going one step further at SW19.

Berdych failed in his bid to become just the second Czech men's singles champion at Wimbledon after Jan Kodes, who took the title in 1973. He was the first from his nation to play for the title since Ivan Lendl in 1987.

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