Back and forth they went in the Wimbledon final, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, the two greatest tennis players of their generation producing one of the greatest matches of any generation on the sport's grandest stage.

For five sets, through rain, wind and descending darkness, the two men swapped spectacular shots, until, against a slate sky, Nadal earned the right to fling his racket aside and collapse on his back, champion of the All England Club at last.

Cannot explain the feeling

"Is (it) impossible to explain what I felt in that moment, no?" Nadal said after accepting the golden trophy that has belonged to Federer since 2003.

The No. 2-ranked Nadal ended No. 1 Federer's five-title run at the gra**court Grand Slam tournament by the slimmest of margins, 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-7 (8), 9-7, yesterday.

Nadal is the first man since Bjorn Borg in 1980 to win Wimbledon and the French Open in the same season.

"Probably my hardest loss, by far," said Federer, who was trying to become the first man to claim six consecutive Wimble-don championships since the 1880s.

Stopped streak

Nadal stopped Federer's streaks of 40 victories in a row at Wimbledon and a record 65 in a row on gra**, thereby stamping his supremacy in their rivalry, no matter what the rankings say.

"Look, Rafa's a deserving champion," said Federer, who hadn't lost a set all tournament before yesterday. "He just played fantastically."

And that tremendous play lasted a record four hours, 48 minutes, longer than any of the classic Wimbledon men's finals it will be recalled alongside, including Borg's five-set victory over John McEnroe in 1980.

Nadal, the first Spanish man to triumph at the All England Club since Manolo Santana in 1966, managed to regroup after blowing a two-set lead, managed to recover after wasting two match points in the fourth-set tiebreaker. He earned his fifth Grand Slam title, but first away from the French Open.

Nadal did it by showing fortitude on his serve, saving 12 of 13 break points. He did it by breaking serve four times - twice as many times as Federer lost serve in his previous six matches c****ined. And Nadal did it by being better from the baseline, winning 24 of 38 points that lasted 10 or more strokes, according to an unofficial AP tally.

"He was rock-solid, the way we know him," said Federer, who hit 25 aces. "He's definitely improved his game."

Finally broke through

Borg and Santana watched from the front row of the Royal Box at Centre Court, which next year, will have a retractable roof. Perhaps mother nature wanted one last chance to leave her mark, delaying yesterday's start by 35 minutes with rain.

Showers again caused a delay of one hour, 21 minutes late in the third set, then another of 30 minutes at 2-2, deuce, in the fifth set.

When action resumed at 8:23 p.m., it already was tough to see and the players traded service holds until 7-7. That's where Nadal finally broke through, as Federer's forehand really began to break down. A forehand into the net gave Nadal his fourth break point and a forehand long conceded the game - the first break of serve by either man since the second set.

Mind control

Nadal still had to serve out the match, though, and he still had to avoid the sort of nerves Federer noticed when his opponent led 5-2 in the fourth-set tiebreaker.

"I played terrible there," said Nadal, who double-faulted to 5-3.

It was their sixth Grand Slam final, already more than between any other pair of men in the 40-year Open era, and there could be several to follow. Federer is only 26, after all, and Nadal is 22. Federer has led the rankings for a record 231 consecutive weeks, and Nadal has been second for a record 154.

"I am very happy for me," Nadal said, "but sorry for him, because he deserved this title, too."