Berdych lone man between Nadal and No. 8
Coeur d'Alene Press | UPDATED 15 years, 5 months AGO
WIMBLEDON, England (AP) - Rafael Nadal knows exactly where he was, of course, on the first Sunday of July 2009, the only time in the past five years that the Wimbledon men's final went on without him.
"I watched at home," Nadal said. "On the sofa."
Yes, a year ago this time, he was in front of a TV in Spain, resting his aching knees, instead of wielding his racket on Centre Court, only the fifth player in the history of a tournament that began in 1877 unable to defend his title because of injury.
He's here now - once again in the Wimbledon final, once again on top of his forehand-whipping, every-shot-retrieving, foe-demoralizing game. The No. 1-ranked Nadal picked apart No. 4 Andy Murray of Britain 6-4, 7-6 (6), 6-4 in the semifinals Friday to close in on a second trophy at the All England Club and eighth Grand Slam championship overall.
Nadal has won his last 13 matches at the grass-court major, and 25 of 27, with the only losses coming against Roger Federer in the 2006 and 2007 finals. Nadal beat Federer in the epic 2008 title match, which ended at 9-7 in the fifth set as darkness descended.
On Sunday, Nadal will take on someone other than Federer in the Wimbledon final for the first time: 12th-seeded Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic. Berdych followed up his quarterfinal upset of six-time champion Federer by ousting No. 3 Novak Djokovic of Serbia 6-3, 7-6 (9), 6-3 on Friday.
On the women's side, Serena Williams will attempt to win her 13th Grand Slam title today (6 a.m., KHQ).
Russian Vera Zvonareva, known for crying jags, temper tantrums and collapses in big matches, will attempt to stop her.