Two Champs Clash

Two Champs Clash

Today I watched a sporting event that was being called classic before it was over; it was a competition that was extraordinary, one in a million. If there is any doubt about it, the match will be rebroadcast on ESPN CLASSIC tomorrow night. I am referring of course to the exhilarating contest at Wimbledon between Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal, the Splendid Spaniard with a physique that makes Roger, the Gentle Swiss Whiz, look like an undernourished choirboy. Any sports fan worth his salt could recognize that this was a battle between Titians of the game, two practitioners at the pinnacle of their talents, with not only a trophy and cash going to the winner, but the NO.1 ranking in the world of tennis was also in play. So there you have it: A great deal was riding on the match and both men played with tenacity and a refusal to give up. They both understood the magnitude of the confrontation.

Nadal, a beefy, strapping kid of 22 is a very strong lad in a sport that usually attracts smaller, slimmer men—think of Borg, McEnroe, Conners, et al. In my view Nadal won on Sunday because he physically overmatched Federer, which really came to the fore with the epic length of the contest, 4 hours and 48 minutes, plus three rain delays. As proof of my contention was the fact Federer had 53 unforced errors, a sign he wasn’t always in synch with his energy. That was his Achilles heel. In fact, his last stoke was a poorly hit forehand, supposedly his strength. Secondarily, he could not break Nadal—he did once—but he broke Federer several times. The Swiss lad had many more winners than Rafa and more Aces, 25 to 6, but it was those unforced errors and the constant pressure of Rafa’s serves that kept Federer on the baseline, almost as if pinned down under enemy firepower. And after losing the first two sets 6-4, 6-4, Federer was on the road to a comeback that took the contest to 5 sets, with two tiebreakers, with so many clutch shots and beautiful volleys you could not count them, they came so fast and in bunches. Nadal won by the slimmest of margins, 6-4, 6-4, 6-7. 6-7, 9-7, but he won. He almost certainly replaces Federer as the new King of the Hill.

I am not a tennis aficionado, but I am sure glad I witnessed this match today; it was one for the ages.