0:00:44 > 0:00:48'As the world ushered in the 21st century,
0:00:48 > 0:00:51'the demands of a modern, top-class sporting event
0:00:51 > 0:00:55'kept the eyes of the Wimbledon organisers fixed firmly on the horizon.
0:00:56 > 0:01:00'Physical changes were afoot, most notably the handsome new Millennium Building
0:01:00 > 0:01:06'which, although state of the art, fitted seamlessly into its elegant surroundings.
0:01:06 > 0:01:09'Wimbledon was still unmistakably Wimbledon,
0:01:09 > 0:01:11'as innovation and tradition
0:01:11 > 0:01:15'continued to stroll companionably hand in hand at the All England Club.
0:01:17 > 0:01:21'But, as always at Wimbledon, there was a respectful nod to the past.
0:01:21 > 0:01:26'The Millennium Championships' parade of past champions on the middle Saturday
0:01:26 > 0:01:29'proved that, for a few, time can stand still.
0:01:32 > 0:01:36'The Centre Court crowd rose as one to welcome back the players
0:01:36 > 0:01:39'that had immortalised the tournament,
0:01:39 > 0:01:42'and there was a long-overdue welcome for one of its favourite sons.'
0:01:44 > 0:01:48He's back on Centre Court today for the first time since 1981.
0:01:48 > 0:01:52Show him how much we miss him - it's Bjorn Borg.
0:01:52 > 0:01:54CHEERING
0:01:54 > 0:01:59'Perhaps only then did Borg understand how much he had truly missed the game
0:01:59 > 0:02:02'and how much the game had missed him.
0:02:02 > 0:02:05'But the first decade of the new millennium
0:02:05 > 0:02:08'would be synonymous with an entirely new generation,
0:02:08 > 0:02:13'each of whom had yet to inscribe their names on the Wimbledon roll of honour.'
0:02:13 > 0:02:15CHEERING
0:02:22 > 0:02:25'In this, the final part of our series,
0:02:25 > 0:02:28'we take a look at the first decade of a brand new century
0:02:28 > 0:02:32'which would showcase dominance in both the men's and women's games
0:02:32 > 0:02:34'in a way never witnessed before.
0:02:34 > 0:02:40'But, as always, Wimbledon will also provide a fitting backdrop for the stuff that dreams are made of,
0:02:40 > 0:02:43'often from a most unexpected source.
0:02:43 > 0:02:49'But, initially at least, there was one story still to reach its natural conclusion.
0:02:49 > 0:02:55'Not since the halcyon days of Borg himself had one man been so utterly dominant of Centre Court.'
0:03:04 > 0:03:06'Pete Sampras came into the new century
0:03:06 > 0:03:09'bidding to win his seventh singles title,
0:03:09 > 0:03:11'a record and marker of such enormity
0:03:11 > 0:03:15'that even the American had difficulty putting it to the back of his mind.'
0:03:18 > 0:03:20I'd be lying to you if I said I didn't think about it.
0:03:20 > 0:03:25Sure, I thought about it constantly, about if it was going to happen here.
0:03:25 > 0:03:28Just, kind of, the drama and the build-up for the match.
0:03:29 > 0:03:35'The occasion demanded drama and the greatest stage in the sport complied
0:03:35 > 0:03:40'as the usually nerveless Sampras made uncharacteristic errors early on.'
0:03:41 > 0:03:46Well, who would've believed it? Successive double faults from Sampras.
0:03:46 > 0:03:48And Rafter wins the first set.
0:03:49 > 0:03:53'But Sampras wasn't about to let the situation get away from him.
0:03:53 > 0:03:55'There was simply too much at stake.
0:03:55 > 0:03:58'Having levelled, he then assumed command.'
0:03:59 > 0:04:02And he's taken it!
0:04:02 > 0:04:07And Sampras takes a giant leap towards a seventh Wimbledon title.
0:04:07 > 0:04:11I knew it was getting darker. I looked at the clock, it was nine o'clock
0:04:11 > 0:04:16and they usually stop about 8:30. Who would want to come out the next day and finish it?
0:04:19 > 0:04:23Game, set and match Sampras!
0:04:23 > 0:04:25CHEERING
0:04:25 > 0:04:29Fortunately, things just kind of worked out well for me there.
0:04:29 > 0:04:33It was kind of a perfect ending to the record, the way it ended that night,
0:04:33 > 0:04:37and then it was just kind of one of those surreal moments
0:04:37 > 0:04:42that I'd witnessed many times, but to be a part of it was very cool.
0:04:43 > 0:04:47'The sight of the usually impassive Sampras in near darkness
0:04:47 > 0:04:52'climbing into the stands to embrace his parents as flash bulbs pierced the gathering gloom
0:04:52 > 0:04:56'provided a suitably theatrical ending to the millennium fortnight.
0:05:00 > 0:05:04'But in any sport, a champion's invincibility is fleeting,
0:05:04 > 0:05:06'a snapshot of an era.
0:05:06 > 0:05:10'It takes a brave man to walk away when his powers are at their greatest.
0:05:10 > 0:05:14'All too often, the king is humbled by a pretender to the throne.
0:05:18 > 0:05:22'Roger Federer was 11 years old when Sampras won his first Wimbledon title.
0:05:22 > 0:05:26'But the talented teenager with a tantalising array of shots
0:05:26 > 0:05:31'showed composure beyond his years in his very first match on Centre Court.'
0:05:37 > 0:05:40He's done it! The champion is out!
0:05:40 > 0:05:44I heard so many people watched it on TV, so many people were happy for me,
0:05:44 > 0:05:46even though they were sad for Sampras.
0:05:46 > 0:05:49But maybe they felt like somebody new was arriving
0:05:49 > 0:05:56and that I could then also live up to the expectations a couple of years later was unbelievable.
0:05:57 > 0:06:01'The Centre Court is a place where dreams are made and shattered.
0:06:01 > 0:06:05'And in 2001, there was a fairytale in the making.
0:06:05 > 0:06:08'But the heroic knight at its centre was a battle-scarred Croatian
0:06:08 > 0:06:13'who had failed to lift the trophy on each of his three previous final appearances.'
0:06:16 > 0:06:19So many guys took the first chance or second chance.
0:06:19 > 0:06:22I got three chances and I couldn't take it.
0:06:22 > 0:06:25So I thought there might be something wrong with me
0:06:25 > 0:06:28and I'm probably never going to get another chance.
0:06:28 > 0:06:32'His appearance in the last 16 was deemed a bit of a fluke.
0:06:32 > 0:06:36'The final gallant twitch of Goran's topsy-turvy career.
0:06:36 > 0:06:38'But the aces kept flowing.
0:06:38 > 0:06:42'The tide kept rising and it seemed only one outcome was possible.
0:06:42 > 0:06:46'That year, the world of Wimbledon was slightly out of kilter.
0:06:46 > 0:06:50'When Goran walked out to Centre Court for his fourth final,
0:06:50 > 0:06:54'it was on the third Monday of the championship, christened People's Monday,
0:06:54 > 0:07:00'in front of a 10,000-strong crowd who had queued for tickets on a first-come, first-served basis.'
0:07:02 > 0:07:06I didn't think it was ever going to be that kind of atmosphere because it was Monday.
0:07:06 > 0:07:10They let so many tickets for the normal people.
0:07:10 > 0:07:15The atmosphere was not like in tennis, like in a football game.
0:07:15 > 0:07:19By that time I said, listen, this is another chance
0:07:19 > 0:07:23and this time if I don't make it, I don't know, probably I kill myself there.
0:07:29 > 0:07:32- CHEERING - Game, set, match, Ivanisevic.
0:07:34 > 0:07:37To see what it meant to him,
0:07:37 > 0:07:41to just see his whole body shuddering with emotion on that day,
0:07:41 > 0:07:44that here was a guy who really felt,
0:07:44 > 0:07:48probably when he walked out the year before in the Champions' Parade,
0:07:48 > 0:07:51he felt as though he didn't belong, and a year on from that,
0:07:51 > 0:07:55there he is lifting the men's singles title.
0:07:55 > 0:07:58I was the committee member who was given the responsibility
0:07:58 > 0:08:00of taking Goran for his post-match interview.
0:08:00 > 0:08:03If everyone would like to raise their glasses to Goran
0:08:03 > 0:08:06- and a fantastic game. - APPLAUSE
0:08:06 > 0:08:11I remember one of the reporters asking Goran the question,
0:08:11 > 0:08:15"What happens next? You've now fulfilled your dream, you've won Wimbledon."
0:08:15 > 0:08:19And he came out with this now quite famous saying of...
0:08:19 > 0:08:23My dreams came true and whatever I do in my life,
0:08:23 > 0:08:27wherever I go, I will always be Wimbledon champion.
0:08:30 > 0:08:36'The first decade of the new century proved a productive one for the women's game, as well.
0:08:36 > 0:08:41'Or, at least, for one family. The Williams sisters, Venus and Serena,
0:08:41 > 0:08:46'emerged from the city of Compton on the South Side of Los Angeles to dominate the women's game.
0:08:48 > 0:08:52'They changed perceptions about who could play the game
0:08:52 > 0:08:55'and how it could be played.
0:08:55 > 0:09:00'When Venus won the first of her singles titles in 2000, beating her younger sister in the semi-final,
0:09:00 > 0:09:02'the first of many encounters at Wimbledon,
0:09:02 > 0:09:08'it signified the start of a stranglehold on the Venus Rosewater Dish that would run and run.'
0:09:08 > 0:09:11It's so cool to be part of Wimbledon history.
0:09:11 > 0:09:15It's just... If there's going to be a slam that you do well at,
0:09:15 > 0:09:19you got to choose Wimbledon. That's been my choice
0:09:19 > 0:09:22and immediately I get more pep in my step
0:09:22 > 0:09:26and hitting better and running faster and serving bigger.
0:09:26 > 0:09:30My dad told us to pick a slam we wanted to win more than anyone else. I picked Wimbledon.
0:09:31 > 0:09:34'At the end of the 2010 championships,
0:09:34 > 0:09:38'the sisters had held the trophy aloft an amazing nine times
0:09:38 > 0:09:41'and only one final had failed to feature a Williams.'
0:09:42 > 0:09:47You think of Wimbledon, you think of classic, you think of history
0:09:47 > 0:09:50and it's always a buzz, every time I walk in there.
0:09:50 > 0:09:53There's a whole new spirit. I feel that spirit at every grand slam.
0:09:53 > 0:09:57I just really enjoy playing it and I enjoy getting there
0:09:57 > 0:10:00and just being part of something super special.
0:10:00 > 0:10:05'Sibling rivalry reached a whole new level, the Williams family the ultimate winners.
0:10:05 > 0:10:09'And the women's game was changed forever.'
0:10:09 > 0:10:13The first time I saw Venus in France,
0:10:13 > 0:10:18you know, like you are admiring ballet dancers.
0:10:18 > 0:10:23When I saw a few shots that she was hitting, I knew she was special.
0:10:23 > 0:10:26I knew she was something which was incredible.
0:10:26 > 0:10:30And every time they're in a tournament, the tournament has a different level.
0:10:30 > 0:10:34But you still have to have this kind of stamina inside of you
0:10:34 > 0:10:39which will allow you not to be afraid to be number one.
0:10:39 > 0:10:43And I think both of the sisters are like that. They're not afraid
0:10:43 > 0:10:46to be on the top of the whole game.
0:10:46 > 0:10:51'But, at the same time, a new power was emerging in the wings.
0:10:51 > 0:10:56'Eastern Europe produced a stream of top-class players through the first decade of the century,
0:10:56 > 0:10:59'many of them products of the tennis academies of Florida.
0:10:59 > 0:11:05'By 2009, five of the top ten seeds in the women's singles draw were Russian.
0:11:05 > 0:11:07'The Cold War in tennis dresses?
0:11:07 > 0:11:13'At times, the Williams sisters must have felt overwhelmed by the sheer weight of numbers.'
0:11:13 > 0:11:19I think when the Soviet Union broke up into its various satellite countries,
0:11:19 > 0:11:23a freedom overcame lots of these nations
0:11:23 > 0:11:28and sport is a way to express your desire for freedom
0:11:28 > 0:11:30and I think a lot of parents in those countries
0:11:30 > 0:11:34saw sport as a means that their kids could blossom.
0:11:34 > 0:11:40When I was national coach, I was selecting from 15 countries.
0:11:40 > 0:11:43It was good. It was difficult, it was tough, it was pressure.
0:11:43 > 0:11:48I mean, I had a great opportunity to choose all of these good girls,
0:11:48 > 0:11:53to put them together and prepare them the way I thought they had to do.
0:11:53 > 0:12:00And the money. It was a way out. A way out to a better life.
0:12:00 > 0:12:03'Born in Siberia, coached in America,
0:12:03 > 0:12:07'Maria Sharapova came to Wimbledon as a promising starlet.
0:12:07 > 0:12:11'She hit the ball like a missile and with almost as many decibels.
0:12:11 > 0:12:16'But the general consensus was the 17-year-old's time was yet to come.
0:12:16 > 0:12:19'Who knew that beneath the almost fragile-looking exterior
0:12:19 > 0:12:22'was a core of pure steel?'
0:12:23 > 0:12:28Nick Bollettieri came to me and was saying, "You're supposed to look at this great girl".
0:12:28 > 0:12:32I saw that fighting spirit which she had. Incredible.
0:12:32 > 0:12:36But, of course, when Maria came here and won Wimbledon,
0:12:36 > 0:12:38I think it was a little bit of a shock for everybody
0:12:38 > 0:12:42because we all knew about Dementieva, Myskina
0:12:42 > 0:12:44and we knew much is coming up.
0:12:44 > 0:12:48We knew she was talented but we didn't know that she would do it so quick.
0:12:48 > 0:12:51It was incredible.
0:12:51 > 0:12:55I mean, even though I had so much attention from the quarterfinals on,
0:12:55 > 0:13:01to me, whenever I stepped on that court, everything was blocked.
0:13:01 > 0:13:04I didn't hear anything. I didn't hear any voices,
0:13:04 > 0:13:08I don't remember what people said. I was just concentrating on myself
0:13:08 > 0:13:11and the ball and that's it
0:13:11 > 0:13:14and it's really amazing.
0:13:14 > 0:13:18'The Russian teenager produced the performance of a lifetime to win the title,
0:13:18 > 0:13:22'the trophy and the hearts of the millions watching at home.
0:13:27 > 0:13:31'The very first television broadcast from Wimbledon was in 1937
0:13:31 > 0:13:36'and it still remains the principal way that most people enjoy the tournament.
0:13:36 > 0:13:38'But the huge leaps forward in technology
0:13:38 > 0:13:42'have meant that the nature of the broadcast is rapidly changing.'
0:13:43 > 0:13:47Radio first started here way back, almost at the turn of the century,
0:13:47 > 0:13:51which was the first broadcast of Wimbledon.
0:13:51 > 0:13:57We were probably most notably the first live colour broadcast in the United Kingdom.
0:13:57 > 0:14:01The notion that what you'd been watching originally
0:14:01 > 0:14:05was black and white, no chance of the vivid green of the grass and so on,
0:14:05 > 0:14:08suddenly being converted into colour was fantastic.
0:14:08 > 0:14:11In many ways, that's what kick-started the developments.
0:14:11 > 0:14:16And two or three years ago, we became a fully high-definition tournament,
0:14:16 > 0:14:18one of the first to do that.
0:14:18 > 0:14:21And this year, on our 125th,
0:14:21 > 0:14:27we'll be doing 3D coverage from Centre Court of the final stages of the tournament for the first time.
0:14:27 > 0:14:30We have got a number of broadcasters fighting over our rights
0:14:30 > 0:14:36and what we seek is to try and find the best financial deal
0:14:36 > 0:14:41but also the deal that gives us the best coverage in terms of reaching the most people
0:14:41 > 0:14:44within that territory that we possibly can.
0:14:44 > 0:14:48I think the whole intention is to make sure that we reach all audiences
0:14:48 > 0:14:50wherever they are and how they can view us.
0:14:51 > 0:14:55The net clearly is where it's at. It's a very difficult beast.
0:14:55 > 0:15:00It's a different beast for those of us from a particular background and those of us of my age.
0:15:00 > 0:15:04We're learning new techniques and we're learning how it should be done.
0:15:04 > 0:15:10But actually, it's where significantly more people every year are getting their Wimbledon coverage
0:15:10 > 0:15:18and Wimbledon information from and we really have to be alongside that if not leading it.
0:15:18 > 0:15:22'Wimbledon's official supplier of information technology is IBM,
0:15:22 > 0:15:26'a relationship that began modestly with graphics for the BBC in 1990
0:15:26 > 0:15:30'before evolving into the state-of-the-art system it is today.'
0:15:30 > 0:15:33The first year that the public were involved
0:15:33 > 0:15:37outside of the BBC graphic statistics was 1996
0:15:37 > 0:15:41when IBM created the official website.
0:15:41 > 0:15:471999 was the first year that we did an on-site system for the public, players and press
0:15:47 > 0:15:50which gave detailed and real-time statistics
0:15:50 > 0:15:53as each match was progressing on the show courts.
0:15:53 > 0:15:57And over the years since then, we've expanded that out to not just show courts
0:15:57 > 0:16:01but every single court that's in play at Wimbledon.
0:16:01 > 0:16:04So for every score that's played on court,
0:16:04 > 0:16:07the chair umpire records what's happened.
0:16:07 > 0:16:10That data flows back to the IBM scoring system
0:16:10 > 0:16:14and is sent out over an internet link to our three data centres
0:16:14 > 0:16:19where it's then pushed out to the millions of people who are watching the website live in real time.
0:16:19 > 0:16:23And for that chain of events to happen is actually sub-seconds.
0:16:23 > 0:16:27So very often you'll be watching on the website, you'll see the score updated
0:16:27 > 0:16:32before the umpire calls it on court because he's waiting for the applause to die down.
0:16:34 > 0:16:37'Wimbledon is a tournament that has thrived on rivalries.
0:16:37 > 0:16:41'Incredible finals that have staked a claim for the title Best Match Ever.
0:16:41 > 0:16:46'Borg-McEnroe. Navratilova-Evert. Becker-Edberg.
0:16:46 > 0:16:49'But the class of 2008 was extra-special.
0:16:50 > 0:16:54'When Roger Federer walked from the dressing room on the final Sunday,
0:16:54 > 0:16:58'he was aiming for a record-breaking sixth consecutive title.
0:16:58 > 0:17:01'But it was by no means a foregone conclusion.
0:17:01 > 0:17:04'Rafael Nadal, the dynamic Spaniard,
0:17:04 > 0:17:07'had honed his grass-court game to near perfection
0:17:07 > 0:17:10'and a mouth-watering clash awaited the Centre Court crowd.
0:17:10 > 0:17:15'Finally, here was a player deemed a worthy opponent to the mercurial Swiss.
0:17:15 > 0:17:20'His five previous titles were an achievement of almost mythical proportions
0:17:20 > 0:17:25'but had rarely seemed in doubt such was Federer's utter dominance on the grass.'
0:17:29 > 0:17:33Having won five in a row, for me, it's an absolute dream come true.
0:17:33 > 0:17:37It's almost disbelief, still, to some degree. People see me in a different way.
0:17:37 > 0:17:43Now when they see me play, they feel they're seeing history at work.
0:17:43 > 0:17:47It's different now than before. Times have definitely changed.
0:17:49 > 0:17:53There was a sense at that match, right from the word go,
0:17:53 > 0:17:58it was going to be a very special occasion.
0:17:58 > 0:18:01If you were going to map out, you know, when is tennis at its peak,
0:18:01 > 0:18:05it's when the two best players who have this rivalry face each other
0:18:05 > 0:18:08in the final match of the great tournament, Wimbledon.
0:18:08 > 0:18:14'Just 12 months earlier, Federer had equalled Borg's record of five titles on the bounce.
0:18:14 > 0:18:17'In 1981, McEnroe, a flash left-hander,
0:18:17 > 0:18:20'had finally prevailed against the cool Swede
0:18:20 > 0:18:25'and the comparisons with this match were the stuff journalists' dreams were made of.'
0:18:29 > 0:18:33CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:18:34 > 0:18:39'Nadal's fire power had found its range and the reigning champion appeared shell-shocked.
0:18:39 > 0:18:45'90 minutes into the match and Federer was staring down the barrel of a two-set deficit.'
0:18:50 > 0:18:55Federer comes out in the second set, gets an early lead, and Nadal storms back,
0:18:55 > 0:18:58and you really thought that the way that second set went,
0:18:58 > 0:19:01Federer had it and blew it.
0:19:01 > 0:19:04What does this guy really have left for the rest of the day?
0:19:04 > 0:19:07You put yourself in Nadal's shoes. You're playing the player
0:19:07 > 0:19:10who is the king of Wimbledon at that stage,
0:19:10 > 0:19:12you're two sets to love up in the final.
0:19:12 > 0:19:16Now, try and imagine how, mentally, he must be feeling.
0:19:16 > 0:19:19"Obviously, if I win the next set, I'm the champion
0:19:19 > 0:19:25"but can I possibly keep up this standard of play that I've had for sets one and two?
0:19:25 > 0:19:29"Maybe I can, but somehow, Roger's got to be Roger in a minute."
0:19:35 > 0:19:41- Fault! - Federer is challenging on the left baseline. The ball was called out.
0:19:41 > 0:19:45'To the relief of the crowd, Federer's pinpoint accuracy had returned,
0:19:45 > 0:19:49'although it took the electronic brain of Hawk-Eye to confirm it.
0:19:49 > 0:19:53'Ironic, since the world number one had made no secret
0:19:53 > 0:19:57'of his distaste for an innovation he deemed an affront to sport's moral code
0:19:57 > 0:20:00'but which was now a fixture on tennis courts the world over.'
0:20:00 > 0:20:04I think any technology that can improve the game
0:20:04 > 0:20:07I think is welcome. I think it's very good.
0:20:07 > 0:20:12Because it's micro-millimetres we're talking about, the decision in or out.
0:20:12 > 0:20:15Essentially, we set up five cameras for each end.
0:20:15 > 0:20:19These cameras are set up, focused on that half of the court
0:20:19 > 0:20:23and then they work individually with a PC
0:20:23 > 0:20:27to track the ball in relation to the line in two dimensions.
0:20:27 > 0:20:31And then all that information is then fed to a control machine
0:20:31 > 0:20:34which acts as the brain of the operation
0:20:34 > 0:20:37where it just puts everything together.
0:20:37 > 0:20:39Then once everything's mapped together,
0:20:39 > 0:20:44it's put into a small file with just a simple track of the ball and where the player's gone,
0:20:44 > 0:20:47and then that forwards to the virtual reality side of it,
0:20:47 > 0:20:51which is what everyone sees at home, the pretty end of the system
0:20:51 > 0:20:54which lets you see whether the ball's in or out.
0:20:54 > 0:20:59The level of error of a line call does roughly equate to about 3.6mm
0:20:59 > 0:21:02which is roughly the size of the fluff on the ball.
0:21:02 > 0:21:05Hawk-Eye shows how good the linesmen are.
0:21:05 > 0:21:12If you see, the players are only 30 percent right and the rest...
0:21:12 > 0:21:17They are 25-30 percent right. I think Hawk-Eye shows how good the officials are.
0:21:18 > 0:21:20'The titanic struggle continued,
0:21:20 > 0:21:24'the spectators spellbound and the play sublime.
0:21:24 > 0:21:27'As the Federer comeback continued in the fourth set,
0:21:27 > 0:21:31'this match promised to be the equivalent of Borg-McEnroe for the digital generation.'
0:21:31 > 0:21:34CHEERING
0:21:35 > 0:21:38It wasn't until really, for me, the fourth set
0:21:38 > 0:21:41that people said, "Wait a second, this is a special match."
0:21:41 > 0:21:45It's the final match on Centre Court before the roof comes up,
0:21:45 > 0:21:51it's one versus two, it's Federer proudly trying to keep his territory
0:21:51 > 0:21:54versus Nadal, the attacker, trying to really make his mark.
0:21:54 > 0:21:59They played a great final the previous year. Nadal had never won Wimbledon. So much going on.
0:21:59 > 0:22:04The fourth set was just tremendous tennis again.
0:22:05 > 0:22:08Spellbinding. I mean, tiebreaks in it, as well,
0:22:08 > 0:22:11and just the levels that Roger found.
0:22:11 > 0:22:15'The momentum appeared to be with the five-time champion
0:22:15 > 0:22:17'but Nadal was never going to lie down.
0:22:17 > 0:22:21'His break in the 15th game of the final set proved decisive.'
0:22:22 > 0:22:27- CHEERING - Game, set and match Nadal, three sets to two.
0:22:28 > 0:22:34That celebration, I think alongside Ivanisevic in 2001,
0:22:34 > 0:22:37those are the two that stand out
0:22:37 > 0:22:41through the sheer joy and the sheer emotion
0:22:41 > 0:22:44and it coursing through their entire body.
0:22:44 > 0:22:48Amazing feeling for me to win here at Wimbledon on grass.
0:22:48 > 0:22:53For any Spanish, it's very tough, but for me, it is a dream.
0:22:53 > 0:22:57I always dream it, to win here,
0:22:57 > 0:23:01and now I have the title, so it was very emotional for me.
0:23:03 > 0:23:07I think if you look at all the components of this match,
0:23:07 > 0:23:10the quality of play, the swinging momentum, one versus two,
0:23:10 > 0:23:13everything on the line, I think it's going to be hard to replicate
0:23:13 > 0:23:16Federer-Nadal of 2008.
0:23:16 > 0:23:20'The following year, Federer contested another epic match.
0:23:20 > 0:23:24'But this time, the valiant Andy Roddick providing the opposition.
0:23:24 > 0:23:27'It was the third time the two men had contested a Wimbledon final
0:23:27 > 0:23:31'and it seemed as though the luck might this time be on the American's side.
0:23:31 > 0:23:35'But in the longest fifth set of a men's final in the history of the championships,
0:23:35 > 0:23:41'Federer clung on to win 16-14, securing his sixth Wimbledon crown
0:23:41 > 0:23:45'and a record 15th grand slam singles title.'
0:23:47 > 0:23:51I had my first win here in 2003,
0:23:51 > 0:23:54I had a win here as a junior,
0:23:54 > 0:23:57I beat Sampras here in 2001 and the rest is history.
0:23:57 > 0:24:00I've had so much success here and it's the tournament I love most.
0:24:00 > 0:24:05I love coming here. It's such an honour to be a member of the club and I hope I can do it again.
0:24:05 > 0:24:11'But the duration of that final set would pale into insignificance just the following year
0:24:11 > 0:24:17'when a first-round match between Nicolas Mahut and John Isner broke every record in the book.
0:24:17 > 0:24:22'The two combatants spent 11 hours and 5 minutes over three days,
0:24:22 > 0:24:25'slugging it out on court 18.
0:24:25 > 0:24:28'Even the scoreboard struggled to cope with the ever-rising numbers.
0:24:28 > 0:24:31'But eventually it was the young American who prevailed,
0:24:31 > 0:24:34'70 games to 68.
0:24:34 > 0:24:39'Isner and Mahut - some names are destined to be forever entwined.
0:24:40 > 0:24:43'Rafael Nadal, along with Serena Williams,
0:24:43 > 0:24:47'will defend his title in the 125th championships.
0:24:48 > 0:24:52'The first organisers of the tournament would marvel now at the rich heritage they created,
0:24:52 > 0:24:56'at the size, scope and luxury of the modern championships.
0:24:56 > 0:25:00'But the beauty of the game, the aesthetic quality of the surroundings
0:25:00 > 0:25:04'and the athleticism of the players would be easily recognisable
0:25:04 > 0:25:08'a century and a quarter after Wimbledon's tentative beginnings.
0:25:12 > 0:25:15"It is the want of variety that will prevent lawn tennis
0:25:15 > 0:25:19"from taking rank among our great games," wrote Spencer Gore.
0:25:19 > 0:25:25'125 years on, Wimbledon's first champion might be forced to revise his opinion.
0:25:25 > 0:25:29'This is a tournament that means so much to so many.'
0:25:35 > 0:25:39Wimbledon is very different to any other tournament on this planet.
0:25:39 > 0:25:44Wimbledon, it's like a peak. We are trying to get in, you know?
0:25:44 > 0:25:49It's like a star in the sky.
0:25:49 > 0:25:51- Unique.- Magic.
0:25:51 > 0:25:55- Pure.- Green.- Amazing.
0:25:55 > 0:25:57- Special.- Tradition.
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