Bottom line

One of the great things about tennis, besides the back-and-forth, is the head-to-head: There's nowhere to hide, no teammate to pick up the slack, no coach to take the fall for a loss.

Wimbledon, the most storied and revered event in the sport, may never have seen a greater head-to-head match than that provided by Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer in the men's singles championship on Sunday.

You weren't just lucky if you watched it -- you were intrepid: Since Wimbledon allows no tiebreakers in the fifth set, the match spanned more than 60 games and nearly five hours when Nadal needed nine games to Federer's seven to win. It was the longest men's final ever at Wimbledon. It was worth the wait, showcasing the two best players of their generation: Federer, the veteran, and Nadal, the heir-apparent. The quality of the tennis didn't fall off during the day, either.

Federer failed to match the record of six straight Wimbledon titles.

It's clear Nadal may make his own run.