Beginning of an Era

Day 13. Lucking number thirteen. Four hours and forty-eight minutes. Third time the charm. Twice delayed by rain. Rafael Nadal beat Roger Federer 6-4, 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-7(8), 9-7 to claim his first Wimbledon crown.

The longest Wimbledon final in history. The first Spaniard to win Wimbledon in the Open Era. The first Spaniard to win Wimbledon since Manuel "Manolo" Martinez Santana in 1966. The first player to win Roland Garros and Wimbledon back-to-back since Bjorn Borg in 1980. The first Mallorcan to win Wimbledon in history.

The lefty dethrones the king.

1981 redux.

Rafa reigns.

Raja weeps.

::

I'll write more about this historic, greatest moment later, but I've got a massage to give.

Meantime, check the Open Thread for our often-times cryptic comments about the match as it happened.