Pre-match build-up to Wimbledon final between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal
Manuel Santana, Wimbledon champion 1966, sitting in the Royal Box: It is 42 years since I won Wimbledon and for many years, I have tried to persuade Spanish players to play there. Sergi Bruguera, Albert Costa, Juan Carlos Ferrero - they won the French Open and never did well at Wimbledon because they didn't have the faith. I would tell them: “Wimbledon is the best tournament in the world.” They wouldn't believe me.
Andrew Castle, BBC commentator: I'd led the commentary on Roger's five previous finals and there was a real sense this time that something was changing. As a match, Federer-Nadal has a thrill like no other.
Andrew Jarrett, Wimbledon referee: Because there is relatively little else going on during the finals, they are usually the only time I get to watch a bit of the tennis. I knew it was going to be an unsettled match weather-wise, so we were keen not to lose any time.
Molly Bishop, 18-year-old ballgirl, from Ursuline High School, Wimbledon: I was lucky enough to be ballgirl on Centre and Court One throughout the Championships and so I worked for players such as Nadal, Federer, the Williams sisters, [Andy] Murray and many more. You soon become familiar with their habits; Federer and Nadal are the kindest, which made it hard to support just one in the final.
Boris Johnson, Mayor of London: I had never been to Wimbledon before, and I discovered that it is just about the sublimest thing this country has to offer. It wasn't just the flummery of the Royal Box, it was the game that was the thing. It was the theatre.
Santana: I know Rafa so well and had watched him through the whole tournament and I really thought that, 42 years after I had won Wimbledon, another Spaniard was ready to do it again.

The start
Castle: In those first two sets, Federer was strangely subdued and I remember feeling quite sad about that.
Bishop: Nadal secured a strong start and it was amazing to see his talent. I wanted to be a part of that match for as long as possible so I hoped it would last.
Johnson: Of course I was on the side of Federer, especially since his opponent had a peculiar habit of bending forward before every point and tugging from behind at the gusset of his shorts. Every time the rally went beyond five or six shots, you felt the Spaniard was the more dangerous. You just somehow felt that Nadal was going to get it.
Castle: The third-set tie-break was when it really started kicking off. Federer is the best player I have ever seen and here he was, trying absolutely everything. This heralded undoubtedly the best, highest standard of tennis. I've seen Nastase at his best - a dominant Lendl, Becker, McEnroe, Sampras - but I don't think anyone would claim to have played better tennis than what we saw from the third set. I sat there in the commentary booth with Tim Henman, who seemed to have his jaw on the floor. We would look at each other, just shaking our heads in amazement.

Fifth set, 2-2, rain break
Santana: As a past champion I am allowed into the locker-room. I had gone in there before the match to wish Rafa good luck and I went again at the rain break. I was impressed be-cause he was really calm. I saw Roger too and wished him well although, of course, I was for Rafa 100 per cent.
Castle: At the rain break, it gave us a chance to take stock. I said to Tim: “The biggest mistake we could make here would be talking too much. Say as little as possible. The tennis here speaks for itself.”
Santana: I returned to my seat in the Royal Box next to Björn Borg. I actually thought at this stage that Rafa had a big problem to win. Björn and I agreed that Roger was the guy who knew how to win this tournament; at this stage we both had him as favourite.
Bishop: In the ballboy/girl complex there was a great rivalry as to who thought who would win. I was standing for Federer. Every point was a competition not just between the players but the ballboys and girls, too.

Light fading
Jarrett: Going in to the fifth set I thought we still had plenty of time, but then 9 o'clock approached. We always try to call a halt to a match on an even number of games and here, at 5-5 and 6-6 it was not a problem. At 7-7, I thought we had four more games left, then Nadal broke for 8-7 and after the next point, a big cloud came over and the light dropped. After another two points, I knew I'd have to stop it if it went to 8-8. This had to be the last game.
Castle: With the light fading, I was posing questions like: is it right to go on? But I never wanted it to stop and I suspect it was the same for everyone in the crowd. Most people were probably freezing and hungry, but no amount of discomfort would have got them to leave.
Johnson: It started to get dark and, as the shade lengthened, pigeons flew across the court as though oblivious to the titanic struggle beneath them.
Bishop: There was tension and the crowd were deafening. As the evening got darker the atmosphere intensified. Federer was, as always, calm and collected and ever the gentlemen. Nadal was perhaps more tense. But neither forgot their manners and both said occasional thank yous which, under the circumstances, was quite incredible.

Match point
Castle: Federer has always been my favourite player and when he hit that last forehand into the net, I was really sad. I don't think he saw that last forehand properly, he took it slightly too early and missed. But he has never blamed the light.
Santana: The moment it was over I thought: “Another Spaniard has won!” My feelings for Rafa are so deep. Borg said: “Congratulations” and, in a way, I felt emotionally that I was the winner, too.
Jarrett: I was so wrapped up in the occasion, but with hindsight, Nadal winning that last game was a bit of a relief. Had we asked everyone to come back the following day, we'd have had quite a situation on our hands.
Johnson: This was a pageant that told you all you needed to know about the human condition. Great champions emerge and then dominate but the most fascinating moment in their careers is when they face the man that will usurp them. Borg was displaced by the genius of McEnroe; and when McEnroe's magic was gone, everyone idolised Becker. Here, the amazing Federer both depressed and consoled us with the fact of his professional mortality.

Post mortem
Castle: That was my No1 moment in tennis, the best match I have ever seen. Sampras and Agassi had a rivalry that would elevate their game and this was the same. On Centre Court with the light dying: what a scene, what a sight! It had genuine magic.
Johnson: The greatest sporting moments that come to mind for me are the Botham Test at Headingley [in 1981] and when Gareth Southgate missed that penalty [in the Euro 96 semi-final]. But in terms of the spectator experience, this was the most enthralling five hours I have ever spent. Emotionally, we were wrung out like flannels. It was just magic, and it struck me that it could not happen anywhere else but the Centre Court at Wimbledon.
Jarrett: People are always comparing Wimbledon finals. If this wasn't the best, it's certainly on the shortlist. For me, I liked Ivanisevic-Rafter, too. But as we stood there in the dark of the evening, we all knew that something very special had just taken place.
Bishop: My memories are of the whole experience, of it being more than a tennis match. People comment on how lucky I was to be chosen to ballgirl that match and what an amazing experience it must have been. I can only agree.
Santana: I go to Wimbledon every single year and I always said that the famous Borg-McEnroe match of 1980 was the best I had ever seen. But this one had the same quality and, for me, it was actually better because I was so deep in it emotionally.
Castle: A few months later, when I was on Strictly Come Dancing, I was in the BBC and, on one of the screens, they had the final playing on a loop. I sat and watched some of it again and, again, I couldn't believe it. To play at that standard, for so long, in that arena. It was a different game altogether. I've not seen anything like it in my life.