Fed Ex Derailed

I am back from hibernation. And what better way to start off than making an attempt to describe the best tennis match I have ever watched. It was an unforgettable, extraordinary exhibition of human talent and flair at work in the longest ever Men’s Singles Final at SW19. Both the hunter (Rafael Nadal) and the hunted (Roger Federer) deserve all the praise coming their way. This bolsters once again the yawning gap between the two and the rest. But wait a minute; can I actually describe the indescribable, outstanding and a memorable rivalry? I know I cannot.

So I would write about what I learnt from this. I am going to run out of superlatives while doing this but then there are no alternatives. It began with the challenger, in this case the eventual champion, showing great self belief by doing what others could not do for a fortnight – breaking the “King of Grass” and winning consecutive sets. At 3-3, 0-40, Nadal serving, it seemed that the Roland Garros is being telecasted but then the King had other ideas. Federer showed his ingenuity and won the tiebreaker and with it the third set. This showed the mental strength of Federer even though he was mauled by the same man a month back. In the fourth set, both men showed why they are ranked above the rest (not that they didn’t show it earlier) and the kind of preparation it goes to hone your skills to be a world class athlete. In the tie breaker, 2-5, Nadal serving, for a moment it looked that he was nervous and will never be able to win on Wimbledon against Roger. But next few games and in particular the return at 8-7 by Nadal put to rest that claim. Federer won the tie breaker and with it the set. Now I assumed that Federer is not going to let it slip from here on and Nadal will have to wait for at least a year to challenge the King. But indefatigable Nadal came at Federer with the same brute force and his agility was not to be shunned even after 4 hour of such high quality tennis. On the opposite side was a man many believe to be the greatest of all time, soaking in so much pressure and that to without any emotions on his face. Watching this match were former rivals – Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe whose 1980 epic final was touted as greatest ever at SW19, their loss of words pretty evident. (Literally, John McEnroe, BBC commentator, could not describe what was going on at the centre court). In the fifth set it seemed that this match is going to go on and on but when Nadal broke Federer at 7-7, no one was ready to believe that it was to be the last break of serve. Finally the saga came to an end with Nadal winning 9-7 in the final set but this was not to be the last match on grass for the dethroned King as was the case with Bjorn Borg after he lost the 1981 final to McEnroe. The graceful acceptance of defeat by Federer and then the assurance (more so as a warning to his detractors) that “He will be back next year” shows that single defeat has revealed a chink in his armory but he is ready to fight.

The sportsmanship portrayed by both the players deserves a mention out here. Long Live Tennis and this great rivalry. I still am an ardent fan of “The poetry in motion” (Federer). Watch out for FedEx :)