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.

King on Grass - Wimbledon final review

Amazing ... Simply AMAZING .
I stayed up till 2am yesterday night watching Messrs Federer and Nadal slug it out in a most annoyingly rain interrupted final at Wimbledon. Well 'slug it out' is probably the wrong phrase to use when describing these masters at work. What transpired yesterday was a masterpiece of tennis composed by two of the most supremely gifted artists, yes i call them artists because thats what they are, of the present era.Who would win ? Will Federer, that supreme master of his art and the king of grass, be able to surpass Bjorn Borg and win six straight Wimbledon titles, or will it be Nadal, the young upstart with seemingly neverending reserves of energy, who becomes the first man since Borg (again) to win the French and Wimbledon in the same year ?? It had all the indications of a thrilling ride. Would Nadal again prove to be too good for Federer (remember how outclassed Federer was on the red clay of Paris ?) or will Federer finally overcome this man from Mallorca who has consistently been his only stumbling block ?? When the match started I was pro-Federer while my dad was all for Nadal. Well the greatest tribute I can pay them is probably the fact that by the end, it didn't matter to us who won... because it became clear that on the day there was only one clear winner :: TENNIS. It was a tale of three parts :: 1. Before the rain interval in the third set... 2. After the rain interval.. and 3. The Final Set .If anyone had doubts over Nadal's form going into this match, those were quickly put to rest as the Spaniard came out all guns blazing and immediately broke Federer's serve early in the first set. Federer seemed to have got his rhythm back as he raced to a 4-1 lead in the second set but the young Mallorcan came back strongly to win 5 games in a row as he took the second by a similar margin as the first, 6-4. Federer stepped up the ante but Nadal matched him stroke for stroke and it seemed that there was no way back in the match for Federer when the Heavens opened up and play had to be suspended. The break must have been just what federer needed as he came back revitalised and took the next two sets 7-6 each. To be perfectly fair to both the players, the tennis on display was of a very high calibre and any lesser mortal would have wilted in straight sets to either of them, but it was to these masters credit that they matched each other shot for breathtaking shot. Then came THE FINAL SET... Big serves, bigger groundstrokes, sublime volleys, dropshots and inhuman passing shots, the final set had it all and more. It was the tennis you get to see once in a lifetime. Every other shot had me gasping for breath as the players kept finding those angles and openings which seemed impossible to me and I daresay a million other inferior souls. It was 7-7 in the final set and most of my nails were already chewed off when the turning point came....We join the action at 7-7 final set, Federer serving, break point Nadal....what will happen ??? A breathtaking rally in which Federer seems to have the upper hand when.... Nadal breaks for 8-7 with one of the most unbelievable passing shots you will ever see!! Nadal now serves for the match. Will Federer be able to hold on? Match-point Nadal 40-30. AWESOME return of serve by the reigning champion !!!! Deuce... Federer not ready to throw in the towel yet. Big serve by Nadal, and Federer unalble to return it. Advantage to the Spaniard and yet another match-point. Nadal serves for the match, Federer returns, Nadal backhand and.... Federer hits it into the net !!!! NADAL WINS !!!!!! 6-4 6-4 6-7 6-7 9-7 ....Is this the beginning of the Nadal era ??... Is this the end of Federer's dominance ?? Nadal had proven to the world that there is no one in professional tennis who can touch him on clay, and in his third final at Wimbledon.. he finally conquers the grass. But there is no shame for Federer as he did not at all play badly.. though he would do well to minimize his unforced errors.... and we hope he'll be back next year. Well looking back, it must be greatest Wimbledon final ever, well atleast the best game of tennis I have ever seen or probably ever will see, unfortunately there could be only one winner... and all credit to Nadal as he emulates the legendary Bjorn Borg. All in all it was one of those matches that remain with you long after all is reduced to just statistics...