Nadal masterful in winning Wimbledon crown

LONDON - Injuries kept Rafael Nadal from defending his Wimbledon crown last year, but a dominant effort against Tomas Berdych in the 2010 championship helped him recapture the title. Nadal never lost his serve in  6-3, 7-5, 6-4 victory.

Two years ago, Nadal won his first Wimbledon title, defeating Roger Federer in an epic match considered to be tennis' most memorable. This final did not have the same suspense, as Nadal was in control for most of the match.

It was near the end of each set that Nadal really picked up his game, winning the final three games of the first set, breaking Berdych at 6-5 to keep the second set from going to a tiebreak and finally breaking again at 5-4 in the final set to win the championship.

The win gave the Spaniard his second championship at Wimbledon and eighth Grand Slam singles title overall. Nadal also hoisted the trophy at the French Open this year.

Since mid-April, Nadal has gone 31-1 and regained the No. 1 ranking. His Day 13 win improved his career record to 8-3 against Berdych.

Despite suffering the championship defeat, the 2010 Wimbledon tournament was a successul one for Berdych. Now 24, he has achieved milestones twice in the past month, reaching a major semifinal for the first time at the French Open and advancing even further at Wimbledon.

 Slideshow 

  Men's singles champions
See some of the men who have hoisted the singles trophy at the All England Club.

more photos

 

 

Seeded 12th at the All England Club, Berdych will climb to a career-best eighth in next week's rankings. He was the first Czech to reach the Wimbledon men's final since Lendl in 1987. The only Czech to win the men's title was Jan Kodes in 1973.

Berdych's major-final debut came in his 28th Grand Slam tournament, the second-longest wait for a Grand Slam men's finalist in the Open era. Perhaps he's a late bloomer like Lendl, who won the first of his eight major titles at age 24.

Lendl never won Wimbledon, and he never hit the ball as hard as Berdych, whose serve regularly tops 130 mph. Dealing with his flat, deep forehands can be like trying to short-hop a laser beam.

Also on NBCSports.com

PBT: Tracking the top 25 NBA free agents
Serena sweeps to Wimbledon title, 13 Slam crown
Armstrong sends message on first day of Tour
Spain reaches semis  |  Germany crushes Argentina
Twitter: Follow us @nbc_sports

 

Iniesta gets training boostNadal rallies after losing two of first three sets