Wimbledon 2009 - The emotions

What is it about Wimbledon that produces such classics year after year after year ? If last year was about breath taking rallies and ground strokes, this year it was all about the power of the serve. Another epic match which kept everyone on the edge of their seats. Before the match, I almost expected Federer to cruise through... after all, the record suggested that. Roddick has won only 2 of their 20 meetings and none of them ever went to five sets, but sport usually has this way of making a complete mockery of any statistics. Well it was one of those affairs which make you so nervous that you just want to switch over to a different channel just for some relief from the tension but you just can't get your hands to operate the remote control. So you are just sitting there, on the edge of your seat, watching as these two men.. no, more like gladiators... slug it out on that battleground, the cauldron that is the Centre Court in front of Messrs Sampras, Rod Laver, Illi Nastase ..people who have been there, done that.. and you can't help but wonder what drives these two guys on. More than an hour into the fifth set and they still chase down the balls as if their lives depended on it.

In hindsight, there has to be a winner and there has to be a loser. So, ok the Swiss maestro, that artist with the racket, Roger Federer finally won.. his 15th Grand Slam, finally (?) cementing his place as the greatest to grace the sport. But you have to stand back and think... was it fair ? Well, sport, like life is usually unfair.. and thats the bottomline. You have to feel for Andy Roddick, you really do. There is this guy... the massive underdog who comes out and plays the best tennis of his life, whose hard work, detemination and passion put in throughout the past year really shows in the overall improvement in his game. So this guy comes out all guns blazing and takes the first set and has 3 set points in the second which, due credit to Federer, he doesn't take advantage of. You think he is down and out as Federer takes the 3rd set in a tiebreak again but he stands up. Just like all the other times he's been defeated and he has come back, stronger than before. He bounces back again and breaks the Federer serve to take the 4th !! So the better player on the day breaks his opponent twice and outplays his opponent thoughout the majority of the match. You would expect that he'd win... but hey.. life is just not fair is it ? I came across this quotation a few days back :: "Man is not made for defeat. A man can be destroyed but not defeated."

Like it or not, Andy Roddick personifies this statement. You cannot help but admire Roddick's guts, his courage. Lesser people would have given up much earlier and many still do give up without much of a fight but here is a man who has always come back stronger than before, has always strived to better himself everytime he comes on to court. So here's to Andy Roddick. Hopefully he'll come back stronger next year and finally add a Wimbledon crown to his cabinet.

Congratulations to Roger Federer on his 15th... but Roger, you've been lucky. Nadal got injured and then you were outplayed in the finals... but you won. Maybe thats what champions do, they win no matter what. But the heart belongs to Roddick, for his grit, his tenacity... Andy, you were the better player on the day, you outplayed Roger Federer of all people !! But hey, sometimes thats life... you end up on the short end.

Another epic, another final to be remembered through the ages. I cried today when Roddick lost... but I'm not ashamed of it. It seemed ironical... is there a lesson to be learnt here ? Does luck always triumph ? Maybe sometimes it does... but when you sacrifice a lot to get to something and you fall just short even when you've given your best, you start to question.. is your best not good enough ? We all face this question sometime in our lives. I've had a lot of tough times, i've felt a lot of pain... but hardly ever have I been moved to tears, but there was something about that moment when I saw the look on Andy Roddick's face when I could not hold back. I've laughed at people crying at the movies, but today it all seemed so desolate.

Anyway... a great match. Hats off to both of the players, tennis is richer because of the epic that they carved into history today.