LONDON — There was an eerie beauty to Centre Court Sunday evening as new Wimbledon champion Rafael Nadal and the man he defeated, five-time defending champion Roger Federer, were taking part in the presentation ceremony.

Just minutes after Nadal completed a for-the-ages 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-7 (8), 9-7 victory over Federer in badly fading light at 9:16 p.m., camera flashes were popping crazily everywhere around the most famous lawn in tennis, making the scene look part film set, part disco and part breakup of an English garden party with stars coming out and the guests going home.

The final few games of the match, which started half an hour late and was twice delayed because of rain, were played in dubious light as Wimbledon officials did all they could to finish the match. Tournament director Ian Ritchie had said, during the second rain delay at 2-2 in the final set, that with no tickets sold for today, the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club would be faced with "an all-queue situation, trying to get people in."

When Federer lost his serve to trail 7-8 in the fifth set, it was obvious there was just enough daylight for one game to be played and that the match would go over until today if Federer were able to break serve. "The last game, I didn't see nothing," Nadal later said jokingly about the light.

Federer, who was devastated by the loss and the chance to win his sixth consecutive Wimbledon title, especially after rallying from a two-set disadvantage, saw nothing amusing about it. "That a match of that magnitude was decided in a light like that is hard to accept," he told the Swiss German media.

But that a contest of such surpassing drama and athletic excellence should be resumed in a totally different atmosphere, likely before a less-than-capacity crowd, would also have been a travesty.

Nadal, after his 6-1, 6-3, 6-0 crushing of Federer in the French Open final a month ago and an impressive run through the grass-court season that included a win in the warm-up event at Queen's Club and an imperious victory over British contender Andy Murray in the quarter-finals last Wednesday, was viewed by many as the favourite going into the match. He won the first two fairly even sets, mostly because he played better on the big points.

Victory in three sets seemed possible until Federer increased his level to win the third set in a tiebreaker and the fourth in another tiebreaker, saving two match points — one with an ace and the other with a clutch backhand passing-shot winner.

With the passionate crowd chanting a hybrid of "Roger-Roger — Rafa-Rafa" during the changeovers, the fifth set seesawed. Federer served first, but had more difficulty holding serve. He was two points from winning the match leading 5-4, 30-all, but Nadal held on.

At 7-7, Federer saved three break points with good serving and bold play, but hit a forehand approach shot long on the fourth in the near darkness giving Nadal the critical break.

Nadal, later admitting he knew that serving at 8-7 would be the last game because of the poor light, won it when Federer decided to move forward but misfired with a forehand approach shot into the net.

Nadal immediately fell to the ground, overwhelmed by finally winning Wimbledon and becoming the first player to take the French Open and Wimbledon back to back since Swedish legend Bjorn Borg in 1980.

After the handshake at the net, Nadal hiked up to the friends box to hug family members and friends and then cautiously walked on top of commentary boxes over to the Royal Box to accept congratulations from Prince Felipe and Princess Letizia of Spain.

If one statistic sums up the Wimbledon final, which lasted a record 4 hours 48 minutes, it is that Federer was only able to break Nadal's serve once (in the second set) and was just 1-for-13 in break points converted, compared with Nadal's 4-for-13.

Describing his feelings after the fourth set, Federer said, "I thought with winning in five sets [against Nadal] last year, and with the momentum, it was going to be enough."

Federer, 26, not only lost his chance for six Wimbledon titles in a row, but he also saw his streak of 40 consecutive match wins at Wimbledon and 64 in a row on grass come to an end.

For him, there was no consolation in playing a match that is already being hailed as one of the best in history. "There's not even a comparison, this is a disaster," he said, putting Sunday in the context of his one-sided loss to Nadal four weeks ago on the red clay at Roland Garros. "If you think I'm happy with this, it's zero — nothing at all for me."

Nadal said he was thrilled to finally win a Grand Slam other than on the red clay at Roland Garros, where he is four-time defending champion.

"It was very special because the last Spaniard to win here [Manuel Santana in 1966] was in the Royal Box watching," he said. "I had a chance to talk to him in the locker room after the match and he was almost as emotional as I was."

The de facto best player after winning the French Open and Wimbledon titles and leading the 2008 ATP points race, Nadal, 22, remains stubbornly respectful of Federer's status as No.1 in the (12-month-based) ATP rankings.

"I don't feel like I'm No.1," he said. "I don't like to feel things that I am not."

When the muscular Spaniard paraded around on a nearly dark Centre Court, with the crowd cheering and flashes going off, jauntily holding out the gold-plated Challenge Cup in one hand, he surely looked like a man deserving of a trophy that carries the inscription, "The All England Lawn Tennis Club Single Handed Championship of the World."