Nadal reclaims crown in style

Rafael Nadal reclaimed the Wimbledon men's singles title yesterday, putting in a dominating performance to beat Tomas Berdych 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 in the final.

The Spanish world number one was too good for the Czech 12th seed on Centre Court and was rarely troubled as he won his second championship at the All England Club.

In securing his eighth Grand Slam, Nadal went level with Andre Agassi, Jimmy Connors, Ivan Lendl, Fred Perry and Ken Rosewall.

And with Switzerland's Roger Federer showing signs of weakness, Nadal could easily go on to eclipse their efforts.

Furthermore, the 'King of Clay' underlined his mastery on all surfaces by completing his second French Open-Wimbledon back-to-back double, winning both finals in straight sets.

"It is more than a dream for me," Nadal said. "It was always my dream to play in this court. It was amazing to play the final this time because last year I couldn't be here.

"It was one of the toughest moments in my career to miss Wimbledon last year.

"The trophy will go in the bedroom, very close to the other one."

Berdych said: "It was a great two weeks for me. He was really strong. He has shown in the last few months that he is a real champion and he deserved to win.

"I hope it gives me extra confidence and power to come next year. Who knows what will happen in the future."

Nadal went into the match with a 7-3 head-to-head lead, having won their last six clashes, all in straight sets. Undefeated at Wimbledon since the 2007 final, Nadal won the 2008 title by beating Federer in an epic five-set tussle, but could not defend it last year, due to the chronic knee problems that he is still not rid of.

But this was a much more straightforward victory than his extraordinary battle with Federer in London two years ago.

Second seed Nadal was tested in the early rounds of the tournament, but upped his game from the fourth round onwards, always having too much for every opponent thrown his way.

Berdych, though, had pulled off the shock of the tournament in beating six-time Wimbledon champion Federer in the quarters, then defeated third seed Novak Djokovic in straight sets to earn his first Grand Slam final appearance. But he could not reproduce those performances this time, being defeated in two hours and 13 minutes.

Nadal walked away with one million pounds (€1.2 million) while Berdych collected £500,000.

Navratilova wins

Martina Navratilova, who won 20 Wimbledon titles during her career, added another All England Club gong at the age of 53 when she won the ladies' invitation doubles.

Navratilova and Jana Novotna beat Tracy Austin and Kathy Rinaldi-Stunkel 7-5, 6-0 in the final on Court One.

The eight-team competition contained pairings like Martina Hingis and Anna Kournikova - playing her first competitive matches since 2003 - and Conchita Martinez and Nathalie Tauziat.

Navratilova won nine Wimbledon singles titles and was present on Saturday to see Serena Williams win her fourth singles title in London.

Wimbledon Champs

List of Wimbledon men's singles titles won since the Open Era began in 1968:

7 Sampras
6 Federer
5 Borg
3 McEnroe, Becker
2 Laver, Newcombe, Connors, Edberg, Nadal
1 Smith, Kodes, Ashe, Cash, Stich, Ivanisevic, Agassi, Hewitt, Krajicek