Federer vs Nadal: 5 instances when Roger Federer let a critical lead slip away against Rafael Nadal

#2) 2008 – Wimbledon final

A gloomy evening that was lit up by Rafa's triumph

There have been innumerable articles that have been written on this match, so we will not go into detail describing it. Very briefly, this match is considered the greatest match ever played in tennis.

The stakes were sky high. Roger Federer was looking to win his sixth Wimbledon and hold on to his supremacy as the world number one. And on the other side Rafael Nadal was looking to win his first Wimbledon and become the first player since Björn Borg to win the French and Wimbledon in the same year.

The first set was fiercely contested with Nadal winning it 6-4. At the beginning of the second set, Federer got a vital break of serve and raced to a 4-1 lead. But Nadal fought back to win five games in a row to steal the set from Federer.

Nobody would have foreseen what was going to unfold in the next three sets. Federer won the next two sets; the fourth set tiebreaker was the most unbelievable period of play ever seen in tennis, leaving the audience in suspense and anxiousness.

The fifth set was nothing short of a cliffhanger, where the match entered sudden-death phase at 6-6, then 7-7. But it was Nadal who held his nerve to break Federer at 7-7 and successfully serve for the match.

Had Federer hung on to the 4-2 lead in the second set and capitalized on it, the outcome could have well very been different in the end.

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Match result – Nadal won 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (7-5) , 6-7(10-8), 9-7

Match duration – 4 hours and 48 minutes