Bodog Beat

The insanity of Sunday's Wimbledon final culminated in a Rafael Nadal victory. (AP Image)

After an intense final that included an hour-long rain delay, a near comeback from Roger Federer, a second rain delay, an absolutely epic fifth set and an eventual first-time victory by Rafael Nadal, Wimbledon 2008 draws to a close.

It took until later than 9:15 PM local time, but eventually, Nadal would put the nail in the coffin allowing him to be the first player to win both the French Open and Wimbledon in the first year.

The ballistic final score read 6-4, 6-4, 6-7, 6-7, 9-7 for the Spaniard and saw over four hours of action.

After taking the first two sets 6-4, 6-4, Nadal found himself trailing 5-4 as the third set was delayed by rain. The two took to the locker rooms for an hour and eight minutes before resuming.

Upon continuation, Federer went on to take the third set in a tie-breaker, 7-6, giving hope that he may have been better prepared to deal with the stoppage.

In the fourth set Federer fought strongly but Nadal would force another tie-break and eventually take a 5-2 lead, close enough to smell the victory. But with the potential winner on his opponent's racket, Federer, the five-time defending champion, battled back taking a 6-5 lead and eventually squeezing out the 10-8 tie-break to force a fifth set.

In the fifth set, the two once again fought tooth and nail, and found themselves tied at six before Nadal eventually broke Federer to take an 8-7 lead. From there Nadal hang on and completed the victory.

Heading into the matchup Federer had been 12-0 in Grand Slam Finals, never having been beaten by the 22-year-old Nadal anywhere but on clay.