Rafael Nadal Wins 2008 Wimbledon Defeating Roger Federer: Roger Federer’s shot at a historic 6th consecutive Wimbledon title was not to be. Once again the one single person responsible for tarnishing Roger Federer’s legacy as the best to ever play, continues to haunt the No.1 seed. Rafael Nadal was a +130 2008 Wimbledon betting underdog against the favorite Roger Federer (-150).  

On what became an instant classic at the All England Club, Rafa proved that with hard work and dedication, come incredible results. The kid from Majorca, Spain, who has grown into a young man before our eyes, has finally accomplished the ultimate goal: to beat the best ever, at his best, and in his element.

Spain has certainly been spoiled over the past week or so: first, Spain crowned themselves as the best in European soccer by winning the Euro 2008 Cup; and now, the proud son of Espana slays the consecutive 5-time Wimbledon giant.

It was what everyone expected it to be, but better. Rafael Nadal came out determined to make this the year that he would finally win the one Grand Slam tournament he most desired. He quickly jumped out to a two set lead (6-4, 6-4), making Federer look defeated, old, and slow.

Through a tiebreaker (7-6), the 5-time defending champ was able to gain some momentum back by winning the third set. The third set became an all out war of nerves, emotion, and desire, as both players gave it their absolute all.

Federer was once again able to survive, after falling 2-5 in the tiebreak and fighting off a championship point. Eventually, Federer went on to win the 4th set tiebreaker 10-8 with some incredible shots.

In the 5th and final set, Roger held his serve at the start, and so did Nadal. A second rain delay interrupted play with these players tie at 2-2. Each held their serve as the final set continued, but Federer seemed to be getting stronger as time went by, and Nadal continued to miss one opportunity after the next.

The turning point of the match came at 7-7 with Federer serving, as the level of competition just got higher and higher. Nadal was on Federer’s toes, but Roger had the aces working. It was the type of moment in time where one can’t help but to admire the kind of physical shape these athletes are in, as Nadal broke Federer’s serve, with the opportunity to serve for the Championship.

Nadal at 8-7, serving for his first ever Wimbledon Championship and against the best to ever play at the All England Club, was forced into a Deuce. In the 4th Championship point for Nadal, as the Wimbledon skies quickly turned into darkness, Rafa delivered the win on a serve-and-volley.

Nighttime quickly turned into daylight, as thousands of camera flashes light up Center Court. It was a beautiful moment in time, as Rafa climbed up the stands, to be embraced by his family as a Spanish flag adorned the new Wimbledon Champion.

Side Note: The match lasted close to 5 hours (the longest Wimbledon Finals in history), as it became nighttime in London, on what became the best match ever played at the All England Club… it was absolutely perfect.

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Rafael Nadal vs Roger Federer 2008 Wimbledon Finals: On what has become a yearly event at the All England Club in Wimbledon, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer will face off for a third consecutive year in the men’s singles finals. This is a match that has become a fan favorite through the years, as the best player in the universe, Roger Federer, will look to continue his grass court dominance in London; and the second best, Rafael Nadal -who is already considered the best clay court player of our era- will try to stop Federer’s push for a historic 6th consecutive Wimbledon Championship. SportsBook.com has Roger Federer a -150 betting odds favorite against Rafael Nadal (+130) 2008 Wimbledon Finals.

Thus far in this 2008 Wimbledon, both, Rafa and Federer have gone through their openning matches seemingly untested and unharmed.

For the duration of their stay in London, Rafa has dropped just one set (against Ernests Gulbis), while Federer has been perfect. More over, both of these gifted finalists were able to win their semifinals matches in rather easy fashion.

According to rankings, Rafael Nadal took on the much easier opponent of the two in his semifinals match. Rafa took on the 94th seeded German, Rainer Schuettler. The young German did not make it easy for “El Torero”, as he was able to compete enough to force a tiebreaker for the second set. Rafa went on to dominate him however, clinching the win by 6-1, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4.

Roger Federer took on a very tough opponent in his semifinals match at Wimbledon. Federer’s adversary was 2-time Grand Slam winner Marat Safin. Safin was responsible for the early exit from London of the No.3 seeded Serb, Novak Djokovic. But Safin was taking on a completely different animal in the semis, as he got off to a slow start; loosing the opening set 6-3, and never seemed to recover. Roger Federer went on to win the match by a line of: 6-3, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4.

This Rafael Nadal vs. Roger Federer 2008 Wimbledon Finals will certainly go down in history as one of the best matches ever played; it is certainly worth waking up early on a Sunday morning for, and getting involved in. Be a part of history; pick your favorite 2008 Wimbledon Champion at SportsBook.com.   

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The kids from Compton, California will face-off for the third time against each other in London, in a family affair.

The two other times that saw the Williams sisters go against each other in Wimbledon was in 2002 and 2003.

Venus, the defending champion, has won Wimbledon four times and Serena twice. Serena's wins came in 2002 and 2003 against her big sister.

Serena Williams is a -120 betting odds favorite to defeat sister, Venus Williams (Even) in the Wimbledon 2008 Final.

Thus far this season, Serena has enjoyed a more successful 2008, with a 30-3 record, compared to Venus' 19-7.

Serena has won six more Grand Slams, whereas Venus currently has 4 Wimbledon titles and a couple of U.S. Opens. Serena has won all four Slams at least once. Venus is missing the Australian and the French Open.

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Wimbledon 2008 Serena Williams vs. Jie Zheng: it seems almost inevitable: an All-American/All-Williams women’s singles Wimbledon 2008 finals. Thursday afternoon, this might very well become a reality. And if it does, it’ll be the third time (2002, 2003) that Serena and Venus meet in the finals at the All England Club, in Wimbledon.

The young Chinese underdog has certainly shown that her stature nowhere near resembles the size of her heart, nor the intensity of her inner fight.

In fact, in the eyes of everyone at the All England Club, Zheng has showcased that she is indeed a fine athlete with a tough never-say-die attitude.

Zheng has battled several injuries (in 2007) since her triumphant 2006 doubles win at the Championships, Wimbledon. An injury that caused her to have immediate surgery last season, and thus, fell off the world rankings radar.

Zheng has had an incredible experience in the 2008 Wimbledon thus far. After slaying the world’s No. 1 (Ana Ivanovic) in dominating fashion, Zheng has kept winning and has reached the semis at the All England Club; becoming the first Chinese (man or woman) to ever reach a Grand Slam semifinal round.

But Jie Zheng has also showed she has a huge heart off the court as well. Everyone's hearts went out to her when she announced the dedication of her prize money to the Chinese earthquake disaster relief fund.  

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Venus Williams vs Elena Dementieva Wimbledon 2008: the women’s semifinals serve off early Thursday morning around 7 am ET on ESPN2/HD from London. For the Williams sisters, Venus and Serena, they will like nothing more than to have a repeat from 2002 and 2003 “family” finals on Saturday June 5th, 2008. SportsBook.com has Venus Williams a -400 betting odds favorite vs. Elena Dementieva +280.  

The women, who stand in the way of an all-American meeting between the Williams sisters at the All England Club, have just one last chance at upsetting them.

4-time winner and defending champion Venus Williams, will be taking on the tough Russian, Elena Demantieva.

For the seasoned veteran, 26-year-old Demantieva, Thursday’s semifinals match with Venus will mark her first in over a decade of Wimbledons. Demantieva has competed a total of 39 times in a Grand Slam (including Wimbledon), but has yet to win 1.

Her biggest accomplishments as far as majors are concern have been: 2 semifinals, and 1 finals appearance at the U.S. Open, and reaching the finals at the French Open Roland Garros in 2004.

So what are the chances Demantieva upsets Venus Thursday? Well their head-to-head history says it all.

Demantieva’s difficulties against Venus: only two of their previous seven matches have resulted in a Russian win. Whereas four of the five Williams wins have come in straight sets.       

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Rafael Nadal vs Andy Murray 2008 Wimbledon Quarterfinals:  Wednesday morning’s match between Spain’s Rafael Nadal vs. England’s Andy Murray promises to be the most watched match so far in this 2008 Championships Wimbledon, at the All England Club. BetUS.com has the betting odds for Rafael Nadal vs Andy Murray 2008 Wimbledon Quarterfinals.

Thus far, Nadal has moved through the competition without much resistance, anticipating yet another Wimbledon Finals rematch against Roger Federer.

Andy Murray has been an obvious fan-favorite throughout, as the Brits hope for a huge upset in the Men’s Quarterfinals Wednesday.

Rafael Nadal is a -600 betting odds favorite vs. Andy Murray (+350) In this 2008 Wimbledon Quarterfinals.

Andy Murray’s Current 52 week rank for singles is 11th, after winning of course this year’s 2008 Australian Open. He was also able to finish 3rd in the 2008 French Open Roland Garros in Paris.

Murray will indeed need to play his best Wednesday, as he faces the king of clay who is trying to become the king of grass as well. The Spaniard Rafael Nadal has looked very strong after 4 rounds at the All England Club.

Even though Nadal’s aces have been on a steady decline after his first round’s 17, he has been able to avoid unforced-errors and double-faults. He is averaging just 1.7 double-faults per match, as he is able to get 72% of his first serves in play. Rafa has also been very efficient when serving by winning 80% of his first service points.

Here’s the only other 2008 Wimbledon Quarterfinals match, presented by BetUS.com:

Arnaud Clement (-135) vs. Rainer Schuettler (-105)

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