In what may have been the "greatest" tennis match ever played, Rafael Nadal ended Roger Federer's reign at Wimbledon. In five crazy sets, Nadal prevailed 6-4, 6-4, 6-7, 6-7, 9-7, just as darkness was enveloping Center Court. With the victory, Nadal became the first man in 28 years--Bjorn Borg was the last--to follow up a French Open championship with one at Wimbledon. I know that I had predicted a Federer victory, but if I had to be wrong and Fed had too lose, this was the way to do it. In the first two sets, Roger let 11 break point chances get away, putting himself in the position of having too win three straight sets. If he could have stepped up on any of the big points, he may have had at least one, if not both, sets and been in position to win. He didn't do this, and it end up costing him his chance to stand alone in history with 6 straight Wimbledon titles. Nadal had chances to close out Fed in the 4th set tie break, leading 5-2 before falling 10-8. The fifth set provided the best tennis of the match, with both players ratcheting up the level of their play, with Nadal making more plays to pull out a 9-7 win, completing the longest match in Wimbledon history.
While I may be quite disappointed that Fed didn't win, I really enjoyed the match, and bias aside, Nadal deserved too win. Fed is still a great player, and still ranked #1 in the standings, but it is tough too argue against the idea that Nadal is the new king of tennis. Unless Fed wins a bundle of tournaments to close the season, Nadal will end the year #1, ending Fed's record run, and perhaps the most dominating 4 years a men's tennis player has ever had. I still think Fed will win 3-5 more majors, surpassing Sampras, and making a compelling case to be considered the greatest player ever, but his run of supremacy is no more. Nadal will have to be considered a threat to win any tournament, and with Djokovic in the mix, Fed's appearance in the Finals is no longer a sure thing. He did himself a disservice by making his dominance appear so easy, and now when he doesn't win every major tournament, he faces ridiculous questions. He's only 26, and if he stays healthy, he has tons of opportunities to add to his resume. Sampras won his last major at the age of 31, and prior too that, he struggled for a couple of years. Rafa's aggressive style of play leads me to believe he will face injuries that Sampras and Fed have avoided, and that may be enough to deny him the kind of dominance he could have otherwise. Fed won't win 3 majors in a year anymore, but he can count on winning 1-2 a year for at least a couple more years, and now that he has lost his throne, he can enjoy playing with less pressure than he has the last couple of years. If he focuses on the majors and doesn't have to deal with otherworldly expectations, he should enjoy padding his stats, ending a career that will leave all others--including Sampras--in the dust.
While I may be quite disappointed that Fed didn't win, I really enjoyed the match, and bias aside, Nadal deserved too win. Fed is still a great player, and still ranked #1 in the standings, but it is tough too argue against the idea that Nadal is the new king of tennis. Unless Fed wins a bundle of tournaments to close the season, Nadal will end the year #1, ending Fed's record run, and perhaps the most dominating 4 years a men's tennis player has ever had. I still think Fed will win 3-5 more majors, surpassing Sampras, and making a compelling case to be considered the greatest player ever, but his run of supremacy is no more. Nadal will have to be considered a threat to win any tournament, and with Djokovic in the mix, Fed's appearance in the Finals is no longer a sure thing. He did himself a disservice by making his dominance appear so easy, and now when he doesn't win every major tournament, he faces ridiculous questions. He's only 26, and if he stays healthy, he has tons of opportunities to add to his resume. Sampras won his last major at the age of 31, and prior too that, he struggled for a couple of years. Rafa's aggressive style of play leads me to believe he will face injuries that Sampras and Fed have avoided, and that may be enough to deny him the kind of dominance he could have otherwise. Fed won't win 3 majors in a year anymore, but he can count on winning 1-2 a year for at least a couple more years, and now that he has lost his throne, he can enjoy playing with less pressure than he has the last couple of years. If he focuses on the majors and doesn't have to deal with otherworldly expectations, he should enjoy padding his stats, ending a career that will leave all others--including Sampras--in the dust.
1 comment:
This is Pax, I would have to agree. That was one awesome match. I thought Nadal was going to have it finished in three sets because of Roger's lack of being able to capitalize on any break point chances. He was however able to take each time break in the third and fourth sets to push for that possible great come behind victory. I take my hat off for Fed for not giving in. It is hard to come back and play for almost five hours. Crazy match with a crazy finish!!!
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