As I'm sure you know by now, Roger Federer beat Andy Roddick in an epic five-set battle on Sunday to secure his 15th Grand Slam title, sixth Wimbledon and place in the record books, and Serena Williams beat Venus for her third Wimbledon, and 11th major.
Afterward the men's final, the inimitable John McEnroe wasted no time in putting Pete Sampras, Bjorn Borg and Rod Laver on the spot to ask if Fed was indeed The Greatest of all time. Sampras squirmed and said he didn't want to answer in front of two legends (he later said yes when they weren't around) while the Rocket wisely suggested that each era has its own greatest and that it's probably best to appreciate players for their gifts and worry about that once they're retired. (Those Aussies are so classy -- everyone knows the answer is YES.)
Poor Roddick played the match of his life only to be cruelly reminded that he has the great misfortune of being alive during the impossible Swiss reign. Roddick was perfect out there and while I fear this could knock the wind out of his ever-improving sail big time rather than inspire him to keep going, I'm ready to go on the record that I would root for him versus anyone at the U.S. Open later in the summer. My pro-Fed stance on Sunday was somewhat ambivalent already (it had more to do with wanting to push Sampras down than pull Fed up), but it sure would make the game richer if Roddick won another major and fulfilled his goal of being "in the mix" again, something he suddenly looks quite capable of being. (And does Fed really need another U.S. Open?)
Reactions are varied on this, but I happened to find Roddick's "You ALREADY HAD five titles" comment in response to Fed's "I know what you feel like, I experienced it last year" consolation attempt to be rather great. (He couldn't have been more gracious in losing, but come on!)
On Saturday, Serena Williams showed why she is the best player of her era, beating sister Venus in two fairly routine sets. How good was Serena? Well, when you can make a five-time champion look completely uncoordinated in her own backyard (Venus must have fallen to the ground four or five times), you know you're in a league of your own. Fed and Serena now each possess three of the four majors (truly remarkable given the greater depth in the game). As such, Roger reclaims his No. 1 ranking from the injured Rafael Nadal while the WTA computer STILL says Dinara Safina is No. 1, a spot she didn't deserve regardless of Serena's victory. (I understand the need to encourage people to play more tournaments, but you HAVE TO GIVE THE MAJORS GREATER WEIGHT -- this is just embarrassing for the tour, fans and players alike.) Pictures from the Wimbledon Champions Part TK. It seems like the fortnight just began and now it's already over. I feel postpartum depression already setting in ...
Afterward the men's final, the inimitable John McEnroe wasted no time in putting Pete Sampras, Bjorn Borg and Rod Laver on the spot to ask if Fed was indeed The Greatest of all time. Sampras squirmed and said he didn't want to answer in front of two legends (he later said yes when they weren't around) while the Rocket wisely suggested that each era has its own greatest and that it's probably best to appreciate players for their gifts and worry about that once they're retired. (Those Aussies are so classy -- everyone knows the answer is YES.)
Poor Roddick played the match of his life only to be cruelly reminded that he has the great misfortune of being alive during the impossible Swiss reign. Roddick was perfect out there and while I fear this could knock the wind out of his ever-improving sail big time rather than inspire him to keep going, I'm ready to go on the record that I would root for him versus anyone at the U.S. Open later in the summer. My pro-Fed stance on Sunday was somewhat ambivalent already (it had more to do with wanting to push Sampras down than pull Fed up), but it sure would make the game richer if Roddick won another major and fulfilled his goal of being "in the mix" again, something he suddenly looks quite capable of being. (And does Fed really need another U.S. Open?)
Reactions are varied on this, but I happened to find Roddick's "You ALREADY HAD five titles" comment in response to Fed's "I know what you feel like, I experienced it last year" consolation attempt to be rather great. (He couldn't have been more gracious in losing, but come on!)
On Saturday, Serena Williams showed why she is the best player of her era, beating sister Venus in two fairly routine sets. How good was Serena? Well, when you can make a five-time champion look completely uncoordinated in her own backyard (Venus must have fallen to the ground four or five times), you know you're in a league of your own. Fed and Serena now each possess three of the four majors (truly remarkable given the greater depth in the game). As such, Roger reclaims his No. 1 ranking from the injured Rafael Nadal while the WTA computer STILL says Dinara Safina is No. 1, a spot she didn't deserve regardless of Serena's victory. (I understand the need to encourage people to play more tournaments, but you HAVE TO GIVE THE MAJORS GREATER WEIGHT -- this is just embarrassing for the tour, fans and players alike.) Pictures from the Wimbledon Champions Part TK. It seems like the fortnight just began and now it's already over. I feel postpartum depression already setting in ...
6 comments:
I hope Roddick does not have a let down because he will be here in Indianapolis later this month. He should be the top seed for the Indianapolis Tennis Championships.
Roddick was perfect he also played very well but he lost the winning chance.it was really very tough and interesting match.
well!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
congrats federer.
KENNETH, your love for this sport is sooooo REFRESHING! It truly illustrates the need for ALL of us to have a reason to get up in the morning! ROGER, SERENA and VENUS, too, are UNBELIEVABLY PHENOMENAL! I would LOVE to be a fly on the wall when the three of them are together without anyone around. What do they say to each other? Their professional lives are BEYOND anything a person could DREAM for HIM/HERSELF. CONGRATS to all three of them!
What's lost in this whole media thing is Roger Federer has the most "MENS" Grand Slam single titles. He is not even close to the most of all time. That is a women Margaret Court with 24 Grand Slam singles titles. Steffi Graf has 22, Martina and Chris have 18. So put Roger in his own category
Most Mens Grand Slam singles titles. Not most Grand Slam singles titles ever.
Source
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennis_statistics#Women_2
One point about the women's rankings. The points for majors were doubled this year over the next level Tier I events precisely to avoid the current situation. In spite of that, Safina has still managed to get to and remain ranked no. 1 both because of getting consistently deep into the last four majors (2 finals and 2 semis) and winning several big Tier I's but also because Serena continues to play far less than even the tournament minimum standard currently set. Part of that was due to a knee injury in the spring that forced her out of most of the clay season when Safina really racked up the points. If Serena played more consistently throughout the year, this would not be an issue.
Also, if Federer had experience similar gaps in his schedule this year like Serena, he'd be in the exact same position she is. He's barely ranked no. 1 now on points largely because he won Madrid prior to the French. Those points made the difference in his current ranking advantage.
I have to figure Roddick can only be inspired by his performance. He didn't just happen to play the match of his life. He's made some significant changes to his game, in both mechanics (he hasn't hit that flat backhand down the line EVER that I can remember) and strategy under new coach Stefanki. I think he'll continue to improve, and I'll be right there with you rooting hard for him at the Open. I think he's set himself for a career renaissance and at 26 (I think), he's got some good years ahead of him.
Post a Comment