Deteriorating conditions
What was it like to photograph the 2008 Wimbledon final between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer?
Clive Brunskill, a British staff photographer for Getty Images, had a ringside seat to one of the greatest tennis matches of all time: by the net, opposite the umpire on the east side of Centre Court.
Although the men’s final had started in sunny conditions, the dramatic, rain-delayed match finished with Nadal winning 6-4, 6-4, 6-7,(5), 6-7(10), 9-7. The final match point was played at 9.15pm, with Centre Court in near darkness when the Spaniard collapsed on the grass after winning the match in four hours, 48 minutes.
“It was probably one of the hardest finals because of the light and the pressure of someone new winning it,” Brunskill, who in 2018 is covering his 96th Grand Slam tournament as a photographer, told wimbledon.com.
With daylight rapidly fading as play resumed at around 8.30pm at 2-2 in the final set following a second rain delay, Brunskill started to get concerned about the quality of his shots.
“The cameras weren’t as good as they are now,” he said. “Today, that wouldn’t have been a problem, but in those days, you are thinking ‘If it gets any darker, it will get unworkable almost.’” he said.
Today, that wouldn’t have been a problem, but in those days, you are thinking ‘If it gets any darker, it will get unworkable almost'
“It got to the point that it got so dark, I had to put my fastest lense on for match point...And I just remember thinking, I can’t even see him. All I could see was the white of his outfit and I was thinking ‘Where is he going to go?’” he said.
Brunskill said he was looking back at Nadal when he fell on his back on to the grass after winning his first Wimbledon title.
“When he fell, I thought, I don’t even know if it’s sharp, because it was that dark,” he said.
“You haven’t got time to look at it, so you just go immediately to where he was running to the box, he is going crazy, he is up in the box, you are shooting and you are thinking ‘What’s the match point like?’” he said.
It was dark, dark, very dark, and suddenly, there was the one with the flashlight from the crowd
While Nadal was making his way back down again after celebrating with his family and friends, and shaking the hand of Spanish crown prince Felipe in the Royal Box, Brunskill had some time to quickly look at the pictures.
“It was dark, dark, very dark, and suddenly, there was the one with the flashlight from the crowd,” he said. “Because I had such a slow shutter speed, I caught a flash. It was one frame in a sequence of 15.”
He called it “a total stroke of luck.”
The image would end up on the front pages of at least two major British newspapers, including The Independent, said Brunskill, who called Nadal “his lucky player.”
Having marked the pictures on his camera, Brunskill then threw the memory card to a runner, who would take it to the photo desk.
Roger is very elegant, his one-handed backhand is a classic shot, with the racket up high
A lot has changed since then.
“Today, you just press ‘send all’ and it sends all as you shoot the picture,” he said. “For example, if you shoot six, it sends six.”
Both Federer and Nadal are great to shoot because they are so photogenic, he said.
“The two of them, I’ve had great pictures of them for years and years,” Brunskill said.
“Roger is very elegant, his one-handed backhand is a classic shot, with the racket up high,” he said. “Or his beautiful jumping forehand, when he is off the ground.”
“Whereas with Rafa, he is just total brute force, and you can see it in his face, you can see it in his shots and his stance, Rafa is just gunning for it.”
Although Brunskill, 53, has been covering sports for Getty for 25 years, he still looks back on the 2008 final with fondness.
“You knew it was a special final, because Rafa had been in the 2006 and 2007 final and it was his third go,” he said. “And I just thought, if he doesn’t win it this time, he is never going to win it.”