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London - Tomas Berdych admitted Rafael Nadal was almost unplayable after being crushed by the world number one in the Wimbledon men's singles final on Sunday.
Berdych had enjoyed impressive victories over six-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer and third seed Novak Djokovic on his way to the final here, but the Czech 12th seed had no answer to Nadal's potent combination of power and poise on Centre Court.
The 24-year-old was swept aside 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 in just over two hours and never threatened to upset the Spanish star.
It was a chastening experience for Berdych in his first Grand Slam final and he conceded Nadal had just been too quick and strong for him.
"He was really good. He was so strong. The biggest difference between us was that when he got a chance he just took it," Berdych said.
"He gave me one chance in the second set and one in the third set and I couldn't get a break on any of them.
"That just shows how strong he is. He is moving really well and can play with a lot of spin, which helps him make almost no mistakes.
"And on top of that he can play more aggressive on the faster court here on the grass. It just makes him really dangerous."
In the space of a month, Nadal has taken Federer's world number one ranking and now his Wimbledon title.
Berdych has no doubts about who is the better player at present.
"You can see the differences when they play each other," he said. "You can see it in the rankings."
Berdych, the first Czech to play in the Wimbledon men's final since Ivan Lendl in 1987, had hoped to claim another famous scalp following those wins over Federer and Djokovic.
But he found it impossible to establish any kind of control on the match and was left to reflect on what he can learn from the experience.
After losing in the French Open semi-finals to Robin Soderling last month, Berdych was able to go one step further here and the Czech is keen to use this disappointment to fire his bid to win a Grand Slam final in the future.
"Right now of course I'm disappointed," Berdych said. "It was my first final and it could have gone better than this.
"But it has given me a lot of experience. I hope I can use this experience like I did when I lost in the French Open semi-finals.
"When I got to the semis again here I went through. If I can do it the same with the final that would be great."
Berdych looked slightly overwhelmed by the occasion for long periods and he admitted it had been an experience unlike any other in his life.
"It's really an experience just to go on court, step out there and play my first final in a Grand Slam," he said.
"It's just such an emotional experience and so different to any other match.
"The only way I can improve and be better is to play more of these matches.
"Especially I need to play Rafa more because his biggest weapon is his left hand. There's not many players like that.
"It's really tough to find the right rhythm. But with more matches against him I have the feeling that I can do better in the future.
"Right now I'm climbing higher and higher. But still it can go little bit more. I just need more tournaments and more matches."
