© Sports Illustrated
America's leading sports weekly, Sports Illustrated, is this week featuring Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer on its cover, declaring that their five-set Wimbledon final is the greatest tennis match ever played.

Sports Illustrated senior writer L. Jon Wertheim says, “In a spellbinding men’s final that will stand as the benchmark against which all other future tennis matches will be measured, Rafael Nadal dethroned Federer, 6-4, 6-4, 6-7, 6-7, 9-7. Let’s be unequivocal: This was the greatest match ever played. It also doubled as a four-hour, 48-minute infomercial for everything right and virtuous about tennis….”

Wertheim writes of the Nadal-Federer rivalry: “… the two players show not merely mutual respect but a fondness for each other. Federer said that even as their final showdown loomed, he sought out Nadal in the locker room to chat. Asked last week to name his favorite sportsman, Nadal listed Spain’s soccer team, Tiger Woods and . . . Federer.”

The magazine goes on sale Wednesday July 9 and will be on sale for two weeks.

Sports Illustrated Web Site

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Roger Federer Career Rankings History

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2008 Wimbledon men's singles final report