Quiet Please
Even though this blog is focused on baseball, as a sports fan, I appreciate all likes of sports, especially when you are talking about it being played at the highest level. Which is why I feel the need to talk about today’s best match up of the day. No, I’m not talking about the Boston Red Sox - New York Yankees game, even though I am watching that while I’m writing this entry … and the game is currently tied going into the bottom of the 8th. No instead, I’m talking about the finals match up between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal at the all England Club, this afternoon. Whether you are a tennis fan or not, a true sports fan would appreciate the masterpiece that happened at Wimbledon today, probably one of the best finals match at Wimbledon in recent history, and one can argue, of all time.
On one side, you have the eternal champion of Roger Federer that has won 5 straight Wimbledon titles and going on a record 6th. And on the other side, you have the up and coming Nadal, who has dominated Federer on clay, but has always been kept in check when it came to facing Federer on grass. Today however, was going to be different. Today it was Nadal’s turn to shine and take the spotlight.
I was watching the match on and off, and as Nadal quickly took 2 sets to love, I began to turn my full attention to the match … as this maybe it, the time that Nadal finally breaks through and beats Federer on his home turf! The tennis match got more and more interesting at that point, as the reigning champ did not want to give in and showed why he had won 5 titles in a row at Wimbledon. Federer won the 3rd set, in a tie-breaker … and again in another tie-breaker in the 4th set where he fought off 2 championship points off Nadal’s server. I remember thinking at that time that this is the mark of a true champion. Even though my heart was cheering for Nadal, as he is the underdog on grass and I have a soft spot for underdogs (plus his name is Rafael, how cool is that?!) … I couldn’t help but have the utmost respect Federer for the way he continued to battle and have a never say die attitude.
The match ended up going 5 sets, and after 15 more games between the two, many feracious volleys and splitting backhands, lob shots and drop shots, winners and unforced errors, there would be a new champion crowned in Wimbledon today. Nadal broke through and won this classic, in what will probably go down as one of the greatest matchups in Wimbledon history. What’s more though, is the mutual respect that both competitors have for each other.
Both Federer and Nadal had nothing but respect and praise for each other, something that you don’t see that much in today’s team sports (think Shaq and Kobe). And even though I’m not a huge tennis fan myself, I found their attitude very refreshing … and wonder where that has gone in a lot of the North American team sports that we have here. However, that rant is for another time … as today I’ll just savour witnessing one of the best tennis matches that many will continue to talk about in the years to come. Hope YOU didn’t miss it!
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Tags: federer, grand slam, nadal, tennis, wimbledon