Copyright Getty Images

It’s a day later and we’re still in shock over what we saw in the longest Wimbledon men’s final at the All England Club. How could it have been any better between the new King of grass Rafael Nadal, who became the first Spaniard to win the men’s title since Manolo Santana (in attendance) against the five-time rating champion Roger Federer, who was bidding to make it six straight surpassing legend Bjorn Borg (also present) and first to do so since 1886?

The memorable five-setter which Nadal won over Federer 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-7 (8), 9-7 concluding at 9:15 British time arguably is the greatest match ever played in the rich tournament’s history invoking memories of Borg’s five-set win over John McEnroe which featured a crazy fourth set tiebreaker won by Mac 18-16 before the Swede cameback to prevail in five hitting that backhand crosscourt pass and kneeling on his knees for his fifth and final title in 1980.

So, was yesterday’s match really better? Tough to say. I never saw the one played 28 years prior but have seen such a great final as unlikely winner Goran Ivanisevic finally winning that elusive Wimbledon over Patrick Rafter in another dramatic five-setter which needed sudden death to decide and featured momentous rain delays. That was pretty great itself. However, this one pitted the two best players against each other slugging the ball like never before seen with the kind of defense to offense transition which is what separates them from everyone else in their sport.

How many times did Federer hit a winner only to see a hustling Nadal lunge over to get the ball back and keep the rally going making the crowd murmur at what they were seeing? Federer also had some great gets as well but it’s rare that the brilliant 26 year-old Swiss 12-time slam winner is outdone on the baseline. Especially on grass where he’d taken 41 in a row at Wimbledon and an unheard of 65 straight on his best surface. It’s a tribute to how great his opponent was yesterday making the necessary adjustments to finally conquer Roger in their third consecutive final.

As Federer sarcastically noted during the trophy ceremony presentation, he “tried everything but went up against the worst possible opponent.”

Anyone else and it would’ve been a record six for a player many consider to be the greatest to ever play the sport. As runner-up also noted, Nadal was “a very worthy champion.”

Sometimes, that’s how it is in a sport which sees changes such as this take place. Was it really the changing of the guard? Yes because no matter what the rankings say which still have Federer some 500+ points ahead of his closest predecessor in the standings, Nadal has won both the French and Wimbledon. He’s surged ahead for now. So while he doesn’t have the No.1 ranking, many will now call him the best player in the world.

Does Rafa still have an awful lot to prove with the hardcourt season around the corner where he’s never fared very well? Absolutely. A quarterfinal or Round of 16 showing at the final grand slam of the year in Flushing at the U.S. Open won’t be enough if he wants to truly be considered the best. It’s time for the kid from Manacor, Mallorca to take that next giant step. He proved he could go deep on a hard court in Melbourne reaching the semis before getting blitzed off the court by Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

We’ll find out this summer if Nadal’s finally up to the challenge now that he’s conquered Federer on grass. The best storyline is that the still top ranked player for more than four years is the best player on hard courts with Novak Djokovic a close second and even Andy Roddick still in the mix with James Blake’s name and game resurfacing. Where does Rafa rate? That’ll be determined over the next couple of months during the U.S. Open Series.

We’ll have a better idea in September.

As for Federer, he’s still without a slam this season and hasn’t gone a whole year without at least one since 2002 before all the Wimbledons when he bowed out to then qualifier Mario Ancic. Amazing that you have to go back that far. In fact, he’s always won at least half the majors since 2004. That is impossible now as the best he can do is five-peating in New York which would be quite a feat in itself.

How does he respond to losing in back-to-back finals including on the Centre Court which he had ruled to his biggest rival? There should be plenty of motivation for a proud champion who still wants to accomplish so much. He still trails Pete Sampras by two for the most slams and has hinted to the press, that he plans to stick around another six to 10 years meaning he wouldn’t be going anywhere anytime soon.

However, the pursuit of history has become much more difficult with Nadal continuing to improve and a cocky Djokovic fearless despite winning his first major last January in Australia. The challenges promise to get tougher for Federer as his No.1 ranking is now in jeopardy.

Does he bounceback and finish the season strong by winning a couple of Open Series events plus a fifth consecutive Open or does he let such a heartbreaking defeat- one which he called “my toughest ever” affect him negatively? Federer’s always been so strong mentally. That will get severely tested.

It all makes for an intriguing rest of the summer where even non-tennis fans are still talking about how great Sunday was.

It only promises to get even more interesting.