Rafael Nadal looking to add U.S. Open to resume

Rafael Nadal had some extra energy after his 2-hour 13-minute undoing of overmatched Tomas Berdych on Sunday in the Wimbledon men’s final.

After he destroyed the 24-year-old, 12th-seeded Berdych, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4, to win his second Wimbledon singles title and his eighth major championship, Nadal curled himself into a ball and did a somersault on the dusty Centre Court.

“I didn’t think about that,” Nadal said. “That was my reaction at that moment.”

It was a new addition to his celebration repertoire and there is no indication that the world’s top-ranked player won’t have a chance to be inspired to other gymnastic feats of joy.

There is still something missing from the 24-year-old Spaniard’s resume. While he has won Wimbledon twice, the French Open five times and the Australian Open once, Nadal has never mastered the grind of the U.S. Open.

“For sure I’m going to keep working to try to be in the U.S. Open finally ready to try to win,” Nadal said. “For sure the U.S. Open is going to be one of my goals for the rest of my career.”

Tennis historian Bud Collins suggested that in order to conquer the final major of the year, Nadal needs to take a look at how Serena and Venus Williams craft their schedules and maybe play a little less frequently.

“I think he has overplayed in the past,” Collins said. “His place in history will all depend on his knees and how they hold up. Knees have minds of their own. They are perilous joints.”

Nadal said he hopes he will be healthier and more energetic when the U.S. Open arrives this year. “I’ve never arrived in good condition,” he said. “In 2007 it was knee problems, 2008 the Olympics, last year abdominal.”

On a Centre Court more brown than green after two weeks without rain, and with 15,000 fans cheering early and late, Nadal seemed unbothered by his achy knees. In his five-set third-round win over Germany’s Philipp Petzschner, Nadal had called a trainer on court to work on his knees.

But for the rest of the tournament, Nadal offered no complaints on that body part, though he said he would not fly to South Africa to see his country’s soccer team try to win the World Cup.

“I have to do treatment right now on the knees,” Nadal said. “I have to have serious work and try to get ready for the American season. So I don’t think so.”

On Sunday, Nadal had just enough powerful, winning, dirt-eating groundstrokes to keep Berdych at bay.

And upon hitting a cross-court forehand winner on his first match point, a shot that left Berdych at a standstill, Nadal yelled, and when the ball landed out of Berdych’s reach, Nadal fell to the ground.

He didn’t stay there long, though. Nadal popped up quickly and did that somersault.

Berdych, from the Czech Republic, told the crowd, “He is so good. He deserves to win today,” and the fans offered sympathetic laughter.

By reaching the final, Berdych will move to No. 8 in the computer rankings. Nadal will stay where he was, at No. 1.

“To have this trophy in my hands is more than I dream,” said Nadal, who won the 2008 title here but missed last year’s tournament because of knee tendinitis.

“For sure [2009] was not an easy year for me,” Nadal said. “To be back at my favorite tournament of the world and play well another time, and not only play well but to finish with the trophy is amazing for me,” Nadal said.

Among the Spanish sportsmen Nadal cited for making his country proud in the last weeks — besides the national soccer team, defending Tour de France winner Alberto Contador and motorcycle racer Jorge Lorenzo — was Lakers forward Pau Gasol.

“For sure to have unbelievable sportsmen like Pau inside the court, outside the court is very, very good for our country,” he said.

Nadal is one month past his 24th birthday and at the same age Roger Federer had won six major titles.

Federer holds the record for most career Grand Slams, 16, and the biggest surprise of Wimbledon was that it was Berdych who came to the final to compete against the second-seeded and top-ranked Nadal, rather than six-time champion Federer.

But after taking down the top-seeded Federer and third-seeded Novak Djokovic, Berdych seemed to misplace the persuasive groundstrokes that had powered him to those upsets.

“The biggest difference between us was that when he got a chance, he just took it,” Berdych said of Nadal. “That just shows how strong he is.”

diane.pucin@latimes.com

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