'Sad' Nadal admits Federer deserved to win

Rafael Nadal expressed his sadness after he was beaten by Roger Federer in a classic Wimbledon semi-final but acknowledged his rival deserved to win.

Federer will face Novak Djokovic in his 12th final at the All England Club following a 7-6 (7-3) 1-6 6-3 6-4 victory on a glorious Friday.

Nadal beat the 20-time grand slam champion in an epic final the last time they met at SW19 in 2008, but was unable to pull off a repeat on Centre Court 11 years later.

The Spaniard was left to rue a chance to win the grass-court major for only the third time, but doffed his cap to the imperious Swiss master.

Amazing match well deserved win by @rogerfederer I had some chances but... Roger played better. Good luck for the final @Wimbledon 2019. Thanks all for the support. Always fantastic to be here. See you next year!

— Rafa Nadal (@RafaelNadal) July 12, 2019

"I'm sad for the loss because for me it was another opportunity," said the 18-time grand slam winner.

"But at the same time I created another opportunity to be in another final of a grand slam. I just have to accept that was not my day. I played a great event. I take this in a positive way.

"At the same time, today is sad because for me I know chances are not forever. Last year I had chances here, I had another one, and I was not able to convert to win it one more time here.

"It was a tough one. He played a little bit better than me, I think. Probably I didn't play as good as I did in the previous rounds, and he played well. So he deserves it. Congratulations to him."