Nadal beat world number one Roger Federer 6-4, 6-4, 6-7, 6-7, 9-7 last night in an epic final that many, including the great John McEnroe, felt the match was the greatest ever played.

And that included McEnroe’s titanic battle in 1980 when he lost in five sets to the legendary Bjorn Borg.

The match was the longest ever Wimbledon final at four hours and 48 minutes with the action ending at 9.16pm after a truly gladiatorial battle, which saw Federer claw his way back from two sets down to win two tense tie-breaks in a match punctuated by two rain breaks that only added to the suspense.

The Wimbledon scoreboard was shining brightly in the gloom when Nadal finally broke the Federer serve in the 15th game of the final set and then served out for a victory that shifts the balance of power in world tennis.

It is the first time since Borg in 1980 that a player has won the French Open and Wimbledon in the same year and Nadal joins Borg, Rod Laver and Andre Agassi as the only players to have won grand slams on clay and grass in the Open era.

Nadal, who has four French Open titles, said: "I am very happy to have a title here at Wimbledon. When I was a kid I dreamed of playing here but to win here is unbelievable. The Spanish do not have a lot of titles here. I don't want to compare the grand slams but Wimbledon is special for everybody. It is more of a surprise for me to win here than the French.

"For me it is emotional and the best match I have played. It was the final of Wimbledon and I had to fight all the time."

For Nadal, it was a day and night he will never forget.

Ditto Federer for different reasons as he admitted it was the toughest defeat of his career.

Federer, who had won the previous five Wimbledon crowns, said: "It's up to the fans to judge whether it was the best match ever. I'm happy we put in a great effort.

“There were some great points and I think we both stayed tough until the very end. In tennis there have to be winners and losers, there are no draws. But it was probably my hardest loss by far. It doesn't get much harder than this."

Both players believed the match would have been halted in the fading light if it had gone to one more game.

Nadal said: "In the last game I could see nothing. It was unbelievable."

Federer added: "I would have said something if I'd broken back to eight-all. It would have been brutal for the fans and us to come back but it was rough on me to lose the biggest tournament in the world because of the light. It was not a whole lot of fun, but that's the way it is. It's over, what's the point in arguing about it?"

It has been an amazing summer for Spain with the national team winning Euro 2008 and now Nadal winning Wimbledon.

Real Madrid President Ramon Calderon was one of many Spaniards at Centre Court who hailed Nadal’s success in becoming the first Spanish man to win Wimbledon since Manuel Santana clinched the men's title in 1966.