Rafael Nadal reacts after winning his first Wimbledon title Sunday at the All England Club. (Kirsty Wigglesworth/Associated Press)

Roger Federer's Wimbledon reign is over.

Second-seeded Rafael Nadal beat back a stirring comeback bid by Federer to topple the defending five-time champion with a 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-7 (8), 9-7 victory in an epic men's final on Sunday.

With intermittent showers causing three separate delays, Nadal had to wait more than seven hours past the scheduled start time to capture his first title at London's All England Club. The contest ended in near darkness after four hours, 48 minutes of play — the longest men's final in Wimbledon history — when Federer slapped a forehand into the net on Nadal's fourth match point and second of the game.

An ecstatic Nadal fell onto his back at the baseline and, after congratulating Federer, climbed into the crowd to embrace his entourage. Tearing up, he grabbed a Spanish flag and went over to the edge of the Royal Box to shake hands with Prince Felipe and Princess Letizia of Spain, who were on hand to witness their country's first Wimbledon championship since Manolo Santana did it in 1966.

It was Nadal's first Grand Slam title outside of the clay-court French Open, which he has won four years running — the last three by beating Federer in the final.

"It's impossible to explain what I felt in that moment," Nadal said after receiving the winner's trophy from the Duke of Kent. "Just very, very happy to win this title. For me, [it] is a dream to play in this tournament. But to win, I never imagined something like this."

The victory avenged Nadal's losses to Federer in the last two Wimbledon finals, and halted the world No. 1's Wimbledon winning streak at 40 matches and overall grass-court run at 65.

"I tried everything," Federer said. "Rafa is a deserving champion. He just played fantastic. It was the worst opponent on the best court."

Nadal completes historic double

By finally breaking through on Wimbledon's grass courts, Nadal became the first man since Swedish legend Bjorn Borg in 1980 to win the French Open and Wimbledon in the same year.

Though Federer retains his top ranking over No. 2 Nadal — officially, if not in the minds of tennis fans — Sunday's defeat cost the Swiss star a spot alone in the record books. A sixth consecutive Wimbledon title would have broken the modern mark Federer shares with Borg, who watched Sunday from the front row of the Royal Box.

"He's still No. 1," Nadal said of Federer. "He's still the best. He's still five-time champion here and I only have one, so for me it is very, very important."

Nadal and Federer's riveting battle recalled the classic 1980 final between Borg and American John McEnroe. In a delicious coincidence, Borg won his fifth Wimbledon title that year by outlasting McEnroe in five sets — the same number required by Federer to dispatch Nadal in the 2007 final. McEnroe, like Nadal, took the following year's rematch for his first of three Wimbledon titles.

A television commentator at this tournament, McEnroe called Sunday's final the "greatest match I've ever seen."

Federer, who turns 27 later this month, remains two Grand Slam crowns behind the record of 14 set by American Pete Sampras. After winning 12 of the 18 Slams beginning with the 2003 Wimbledon, Federer is 0-for-3 in major tournaments this season with only the U.S. Open remaining.

Champion can't buy a break

Federer had his chances Sunday to add to both his trophy case and his legend as he nearly became the first player since Frenchman Henri Cochet in 1927 to overcome a two-set deficit in the Wimbledon men's final.

Federer, though, was doomed by converting just one of 13 break points during a match that was delayed by about an hour at the start, 85 minutes in the third set and half an hour in the fifth.

Nadal showed his uncanny knack for escaping break points from the get-go. After drawing first blood by breaking Federer in the third game of the match, the sleeveless Spaniard held off Federer on a break point to take a 3-1 lead in the opening set.

The champion got to the verge of a break twice more with Nadal up 5-4 but frittered away both chances — the first with a volley that sailed long, the second with a backhand into the net. Two points later, another backhand found the net, marking the first time in the tournament that Federer dropped a set.

Federer finally converted a break opportunity in racing out to a 3-0 lead in the second set. But Nadal battled back with two key breaks of his own — the second to go up 5-4 — before seizing a stunning two-sets-to-none lead when Federer dumped another backhand into the net.

Final rain delay?

The champion looked to have an opening while leading 2-1 in the third set as Nadal received treatment on his sore right knee during the changeover. But the challenger returned looking no worse for wear as he staved off two break points to even the set at 2-2.

Federer had more chances to break in the sixth game but wasted them all, including two that came on Nadal's second serve.

Federer led 5-4 when the rain began falling, sending the players back to the locker room and the grounds crew scurrying to erect a tent over the court. It was perhaps the last time such a scene — commonplace during Wimbledon — will play out in a final, as next year Centre Court will be fitted with a retractable roof.

When play resumed, the players combined to hold three straight service games, sending the set to a tense tiebreak that Federer finished off with an ace to stay alive.

Order continued to rule in the fourth set as both players protected their serve, setting the stage for another tiebreak — this one a thriller in which both players executed dazzling shots under pressure.

Perhaps the duress was too much for Nadal, who had a chance to close out the championship with a 5-2 lead and serve. But he promptly double faulted, lost the subsequent rally, then watched as Federer went on to save two match points en route taking his second straight tiebreak with a forehand into the open court against a scrambling Nadal.

Held serves were all the rage again in the deciding set, which can not be decided by a tiebreak. That looked like it could become a problem as twilight washed over Centre Court — raising the possibility of play being suspended until Monday. But Nadal gave the crowd the resolution it craved by winning a key break to go up 8-7 when Federer struck a forehand too long, then using a big serve at deuce to set up the fourth and final match point.

With files from the Associated Press