Rafael Nadal beat five-time Wimbledon champion and Dai-Yokozuna Roger Federer in five thrilling and classy sets for the championship and, therefore becomes tennis' 15th male Yokozuna since the beginning of the open era.
Nadal joins an elite club that prior to this tournament consisted of Rod Laver, Ken Rosewall, Jimmy Connors, John Newcombe, Bjorn Borg, John McEnroe, Mats Wilander, Ivan Lendl, Boris Becker, Stefan Edberg, Jim Courier, Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, and the very Roger Federer he defeated.
This is the first Yokozuna promotion in men's tennis since 2003 (Federer) and only the second since 1995 (Agassi). It is also the first time since Andre Agassi's retirement that there are two active male Yokozuna--Federer and Nadal.
Nadal jumped both Yokozuna promotion hurdles at the same time: Wimbledon 2008 marked the 5th grand slam victory of his career, and he also produced back-to-back grand slam titles following his win at the French Open in June.
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