ROGER Federer's quest to be known as the greatest ever' gathered serious pace at the All England Club yesterday.

The Swiss ace left those inside Centre Court marvelling at his brilliance after equalling Bjorn Borg's record of five successive Wimbledon titles, in a final described by former SW19 champion Boris Becker as an epic' .

Up against world No.2 Rafael Nadal, the 25-year-old recovered from a strangely off key fourth set to win 7-6 (9-7) 4-6, 7-6 (7-3), 2- 6, 6-2 victory.

In a breathtaking Wimbledon finale, Federer and Nadal underlined why their growing rivalry is now considered as good, if not better, than the days when Borg locked horns with John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors.

The epic encounter had the crowd gasping at every point as the destination of the title remained in the balance for the entirety of the near four-hour battle.

That was until Federer, who ended Pete Sampras' bid for five successive titles in 2001, broke Nadal's serve in the sixth game of the fifth set.

After surviving four break points of his own Federer sniffed a chance and like a true champion he took it to assume a 4-2 lead.

That was that.

There was no way back for the world No.2 as Federer held his service game to love before breaking again to secure an 11th Grand Slam title.

"It was very special to win with Bjorn sitting there watching,"

said Federer.

"I was almost crying at 5-2 and I had to relax.

"A lot of things go through your mind and I just wanted to play aggressively and it worked.

"I feared it was slipping away but when he didn't take the break points I knew I would get a chance. That happened and I took it.

"Obviously Pete's record is now on my mind.

"But I'm not going to say I have to do it. Pete was probably the greatest ever so it's not easy.

"But I still feel mentally and physically strong enough to carry on and I would love to equal his record - but I am not there yet."

While Federer equalled one Borg record, Nadal missed out on the chance to become the first man since the legendary Swede to win both the French Open and Wimbledon titles in the same year.

He also missed out on the honour of becoming the first Spanish Wimbledon champion since Manuel Santana in 1966.

But at just 21 Nadal's time will come. Nicknamed the King of Clay following 81 straight victories, Nadal proved beyond doubt that he possesses the weapons, natural ability and desire to reign at the All England Club.

A fact not lost on Federer.

"Rafael is playing phenomenal tennis," added Federer.

"He is going to be around for so much longer so I'm happy with every title I get now before he takes them all.

"He had a game plan, knows the grass court better and was more aggressive.

"He is not just a clay-court player and he deserves a title here - he is certainly not getting any worse and I have immense respect for him."

While Federer is now worthy of the highest accolade, Nadal is not far behind.

He still boasts the better headto- head record and proved he has mastered the grass-court game after reaching a second successive Wimbledon final.

But with Federer now just three Grand Slams away from equaling Sampras' all-time record, Nadal believes his rival is the best ever.

"The best player in history has 14 Grand Slams and he has 11 so he is very close to the best," said the three-time French Open champion.

"But even if he wins 14 or 16 I feel the level of tennis is the best ever.

"I'm playing better than last year and maybe right now I can't compare myself to Roger as I only have three Grand Slams.

"But I am young, I'm improving and am happy with how things are going."

Nadal continued: "I played a great tournament and had chances for a win against one of the best ever.

"I am disappointed but when I look back I can be happy with my tournament."

It looked like it would be another easy day at the office for Federer as he broke Nadal at the first attempt on his way to an early 3-0 lead.

But Nadal is a different animal to the grass-court novice that lost last year's final first set to love and he broke back on his way to an ultimately unsuccessful tiebreak.

The Spaniard recovered to win the second before Federer won the second tie-break of the match to take a 2-1 lead.

Again Nadal hit back, breaking twice to force a decider. But Federer responded like a champion and after saving four break points he broke Nadal's serve for the first time since the first set.

Federer then held serve before sealing the match with a straight forward overhead smash.

The emotion poured out of Federer as he sunk to his knees in a manner, which bore a striking resemblance to Borg's own celebration 27 years earlier.