And the men's final that went long into Sunday night was every bit as gripping as any drama BBC One might have intended to show instead.

When Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer returned after tea following a rain break, it seemed like a formality for the Spaniard.

But when he blew the tie breaker and went on to lose the fourth set as well, it looked for all the world like his bottle had gone.

You can have all the muscles you want, but if you are not mentally prepared for whatever sport throws at you, you are in trouble.

Fans of the Majorcan need not have worried as, with the light of the electronic scoreboard shining brightly five hours after play had started, he finally got the break of serve he required and served out for the championship.

It was fantastic to watch and every bit as thrilling as the match Andy Murray had won to get past Richard Gasquet at a similar time of night earlier in the week.

With its quirky scoring system, tennis has the ability to swing dramatically on the result of one magnificent passing shot or a complete mis-hit.

There can have been few watching who were not in awe of the power with which both players were hitting the ball.

And with the power was incredible accuracy, especially as the light started to fail.

People complain about a lack of British talent - and it has been a problem over the past few years.

But Murray's performance was his best at a Grand Slam and we had 14-year-old Laura Robson winning the girls' title.

And while the Williams sisters contested the women's final it should not be forgotten that they were the only two Americans left in either singles draw on the second Monday of the tournament.

The best comic moment of the final came during Federer's fightback when a message flashed up on the screen informing viewers that Last of the Summer Wine had been switched to BBC Two.

I remain unsure how many fans of the programme that still calls itself a comedy would even know how to change channels.

ENGLAND'S cricketers may have won the Test series with New Zealand earlier this summer, but they face a much sterner examination against South Africa starting on Thursday.

Dale Steyn is widely regarded as the best bowler in the world at the moment and will be looking to shake up the English batsmen.

But he's a pussycat compared to Morne Morkel who is not averse to peppering batters with bouncers - and at 95mph.

Michael Vaughan and co may have been able to deal with Daniel Vettori's turn as the Kiwis were sent packing, but Steyn, Morkel, Andre Nel and Makhaya Ntini will be a completely different kettle of fish.