WIMBLEDON, England — Rafael Nadal, grass stains on his white shirt and a Spanish flag tucked under his arm, scampered through the Centre Court stands to celebrate his first Wimbledon title with hugs and handshakes.

Roger Federer sat in his changeover chair, alone with his thoughts, alone with the knowledge that he had come so close to becoming the first man since the 1880s to win a sixth consecutive title at the All England Club.

Two points from victory, the No. 1-ranked Federer couldn't pull it out, instead succumbing to No. 2 Nadal, 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-7 (8), 9-7, yesterday in a 4-hour, 48-minute test of wills that was the longest men's final in Wimbledon history — and quite possibly the greatest.

Even Nadal felt sympathy for Federer.

"I am very happy for me," Nadal said, "but sorry for him, because he deserved this title, too."

Through rain, wind and descending darkness, the two greatest players of their generation swapped spectacular shots, until, against a slate sky, Nadal earned the right to fling his racket aside and collapse on his back, champion of the All England Club at last.

"Is impossible to explain what I felt in that moment, no?" Nadal said after accepting the golden trophy that has belonged to Federer since 2003.

The first man since Bjorn Borg in 1980 to win Wimbledon and the French Open in the same year, Nadal stopped Federer's streaks of 40 victories in a row at the All England Club, and a record 65 in a row on grass, thereby stamping his supremacy in their rivalry, no matter what the rankings say.

"Probably my hardest loss, by far," Federer said. "I mean, it's not much harder than this right now."

No man since 1927 had come back to win a Wimbledon final after losing the first two sets, and none had overcome a match point to seize victory since 1948. If anyone could, it figured to be Federer, especially on this particular lawn.

He hadn't lost a match on grass since 2002, and he hadn't lost a set during this tournament before yesterday. He also hadn't faced anyone nearly as talented and indefatigable as Nadal.

"Look, Rafa's a deserving champion," Federer said. "He just played fantastically."

Indeed he did, earning Spain its first Wimbledon men's title since Manolo Santana won in 1966.

Nadal managed to regroup after blowing a two-set lead, managed to recover after wasting two match points in the fourth-set tiebreaker, managed to hold steady when Federer needed only two points to end the match while ahead 5-4 in the fifth.

He earned his fifth Grand Slam title, but first away from the French Open, by showing fortitude on his serve, saving 12 of 13 break points. He did it by breaking serve four times — twice as many times as Federer lost serve in his previous six matches combined. And Nadal did it by being better from the baseline, winning 24 of 38 points that lasted 10 or more strokes, according to an unofficial AP tally.

"He was rock-solid, the way we know him," said Federer, who hit 25 aces. "He's definitely improved his game."

In the mixed doubles final, American Bob Bryan teamed with Samantha Stosur of Australia to beat top-seeded Mike Bryan and Katarina Srebotnik of Slovenia, 7-5, 6-4.