Nadal wins second Wimbledon title

LONDON — 

Rafael Nadal defeated Tomas Berdych in straight sets to win his second Wimbledon title, a year after sore knees kept him from defending his crown in London.

The Spaniard defeated Berdych, of the Czech Republic, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 today on Centre Court for his eighth Grand Slam championship, tying him with Andre Agassi, Jimmy Connors, Ivan Lendl, Fred Perry and Ken Rosewall.

Nadal now has completed the French Open-Wimbledon double twice. He also won both tournaments in 2008, beating Roger Federer of Switzerland in a five-set match that was the longest final in Wimbledon history at 4 hours, 48 minutes. Sweden’s Bjorn Borg, who watched today’s match from a courtside box, won both tournaments in one season three times.

A swirling wind challenged the players on a dry English afternoon. There were no rain delays in the two- week tournament, which traditionally is bedeviled by wet weather.

Nadal extended his winning streaking against the 12th- seeded Czech to seven straight matches and 17 consecutive sets. The two players’ only previous meeting on grass or at a Grand Slam was at Wimbledon in 2007, when Nadal won in straight sets.

This time last year, there were concerns about Nadal’s health as well as his tennis.

Nadal’s Knees

He was beaten by Swede Robin Soderling in the fourth round at the 2009 French Open, his only loss on the clay of Paris, and then was unable to defend his Wimbledon title because of tendinitis in his knees. Federer won his first French Open to complete the career Grand Slam and outlasted American Andy Roddick in London in another five-set match to break Pete Sampras’s men’s record with his 15th major title.

After Paris, Nadal struggled with injuries and loss of confidence, not winning a title for the rest of the 2009 season. After pulling out of the quarterfinals of the Australian Open this January with a knee injury against Britain’s Andy Murray, Nadal regained his form on the European clay courts.

He won his first title in 11 months in Monte Carlo, and went on to win as well in Rome and Madrid. He won his fifth French Open championship without dropping a set.

Nadal’s Path

Nadal’s path to the Wimbledon final wasn’t as smooth as that at Roland Garros. He needed five sets to overcome Robin Haase of the Netherlands in the second round, and he got treatment on his right knee in his next match while playing five sets in beating Germany’s Philipp Petzschner. After that match, the Majorcan told reporters he was “a little bit scared” about the knee, adding it also had bothered him earlier in the year in Monte Carlo and Miami.

Nadal’s knees recovered in the second week of Wimbledon, and he saved his best tennis before today’s championship match for his semifinal against Murray. After losing in straight sets to Nadal, the Scot said the Spaniard was “one of the greatest players ever.”

By beating Soderling in the final of the French Open last month, Nadal reclaimed the No. 1 spot on the ATP World Tour rankings from Federer. After Berdych handed Federer his earliest loss at the All England Club since 2002 in the quarterfinals, the Swiss six-time Wimbledon champion will drop to No. 3 when the rankings are published tomorrow. Novak Djokovic of Serbia will move to No. 2.

Berdych, who made the semifinals of the French Open, will re-enter the top 10 at No. 8. He was attempting to become the first man in the Open Era, which began in 1968, to have defeated the top three seeds in a Grand Slam tournament.