The brain against the body: why Nadal tops Federer
Federer has more slams, but Nadal's purity of thought puts him on top, writes Mark Reason.
Rafa Nadal fell to the ground in salute of a second Wimbledon victory, but it was ritual rather than the real thing.
The big celebration took place on Friday night when Nadal keeled over and kicked out in triumph after beating Andy Murray.
Deep down Nadal knew that was the moment when he had clinched his eighth Grand Slam title.
Viva La Rafa-lution ... Nadal and Federer. Photo: Getty Images
Usually, people ask "is he the greatest" when they are deep into emotional extra time after an epic match, but it is a deeper question after an anticlimax like this. Sunday's final took place in the shadowlands of greatness because Nadal was far too good for Tomas Berdych.
Is he now the best tennis player of all time?
The Federalists will squawk in disbelief and point out that their man has 16 grand slam titles, twice as many as Nadal.
It's statistically incontrovertible, but Roger Federer beat a long list of not-quiters, has-beens or youngsters in those finals.
Look them up if you don't believe me.
The only thing golden about Federer's era was the appalling No 15 he wore on his tracksuit after last year's smug Wimbledon triumph.
Thank goodness we didn't get that sort of syrup from Nadal.
The Spaniard may have more tics than a mangy horse, but he knows how to behave in victory and defeat.
He even took the trouble to thank the Centre Court crowd for "the amazing respect" they showed him during his semi-final victory over Murray.
Even in his moment of ultimate triumph Nadal was still thinking back to that match.
The only amazing thing about the final was Nadal's rise and surge on the big points.
The Spaniard has a mind forged from Toledo steel.
Maybe Donald Bradman may have been more unflinching, more remorseless than Nadal, but it's a close-run single.
Nadal saved the first break point that he faced with a big serve and a colossal forehand, but the second was erased with cold-hearted calculation. Nadal hit a second serve at just 93mph with such spin and accuracy that it swerved away from Berdych's scrabbling racket. The Czech must have felt like throwing himself into the river Vltava.
It is that purity of thought at the big moments that gives Nadal the vote over Federer. It's the brain against the body. It's Fangio against his Ferrari.
Surely no one has ever moved better than Federer on a tennis court, but he has never had Nadal's strength of mind. The Swiss cried tears of self-pity when Nadal beat him at the 2009 Australian Open and said: "God, it's killing me."
It was an admission that Federer at his best didn't think he could beat Nadal at his best.
The Spaniard kept raising his game against Federer to the great man's despair, but against Berdych on Sunday Nadal only needed what Tiger Woods used to call his 'B' game.
Nadal probably missed more forehands in the final than he has in the rest of the Championship put together. Some of that was down to the fact that Berdych was trying to play Nadal with short, slow balls.
It worked for Arthur Ashe in the epic 1975 final against Jimmy Connors, but Berdych is not such a craftsman, Nadal missed a lot of shots, but he never looked as if he really thought he had to raise his level.
Everyone loves Rafa, but could someone please have a word about some of these tics. The 24 year-old seems to suffer from some strain of obsessive compulsive disorder. Nadal's two drink bottles have to be replaced on exactly the same blades of grass, he towels off between every point, he picks at his shorts, he won't step on lines.
In the third set new balls were bowled into play and Rafa wouldn't accept delivery until he had moved the ballboy back into his original position. Even then he asked for three balls to sort through and they hadn't even been used.
At that point you could begin to sympathise with Federer saying: "God, it's killing me", but Berdych just looked happy to be there.
A deep, English male voice shouted out: "I love you, Rafa," but nothing could quite spike the match into life. It was as inevitable as Saturday's women's final. Another voice shouted: "You're a genius, Rafa."
Ah, but genius is sometimes rather boring. Some of Tiger Woods's victories have been as exciting as a five-hour airport delay. It was like that with Nadal on Sunday. I almost yearned for the return of Federer.
Then the memory flashed by of the Fed saying on his way out of here: "Rafa's played terrible lately." Is that the same Rafa who leads you 14-7 in all-time games, 6-2 in grand Slam matches and 12-5 in finals?
The Fed is dead, viva laRafa-lution.
The Telegraph, London
RAFA was victorious
like i knew he would be....He is Number 1
In fact he was reminding people that there are other players in the drawer besides Andy Murray which is refreshing because I'm yet to see an interview where a player isn't pressed to talk about him. And he could extend a little more courtesy to the players that Roger beat in his finals, because they both had to beat 6 other people to get to that point so in those situations, they were the best two in the competition. 
