July 6th, 2008
The 2008 Wimbledon final has been over for a good 45 minutes now, and I’m still sitting here, wondering what to say about it. The short story is that Rafael Nadal finally beat Roger Federer in the Wimbledon championship game 6-4, 6-4, 6-7, 6-7, 9-7. But there is so much more than just a loser and a winner, so much more than Rafa finally breaking Roger’s five-win streak.
Rafa looked like he was going to run away with the match after taking the first two sets at 6-4 apiece. Roger managed to hold serve in the third for a score of 5-4 when a rain delay was called.
And that’s when I left to go to work. Why? Well, for the same reason I refused to call who was going to win this match. I thought about writing a preview yesterday and predicting the winner, but I couldn’t do it. I’ve been a fan of Roger’s for years - before he began dominating this sport. I’m not a fairweather fan, and my loyalty demanded I not pick against Roger. But at the same time that my loyalty told me to pick Roger to win, my gut was yelling loud and clear that Rafa was going to win this title. Caught in the middle of two players I enjoy very much, I decided to just sit back and let it happen. When Roger was down two sets, I couldn’t handle watching it any more. It was actually painful; some days, I hate sports!
But when I came back, Roger had come out in front in back-to-back tiebreaks, saving two match points on the way and leveling the match at 2 sets-all.
The fifth set, though, tells the story. Down to the wire, both players coming from points down to hold on serve. Rafa finally broke Roger to go up 8-7 and then held on serve to take the final game in a championship that has been elusive for the Spaniard.
History was made today: the longest Wimbledon final, the first Wimbledon final to stretch past nine in the evening. Rafa won both the French and Wimbledon in the same year which hasn’t happened since when…Bjorn Borg? That’s some serious time passage, folks.
But the thing that I think is so awesome is that these two guys - after playing their hearts out in a nearly five hour match - walked up to the net, clasped hands and spoke words of congratulations. And I think they actually meant them.
Did you look at Rafa’s face during the trophy ceremony? Words really don’t mean much. Rafa could talk about how great Roger is all day long and not mean a word of it, but the expression on Rafa’s face can’t be faked. He genuinely respects Roger, he likes him a great deal, and I think it’s returned on Roger’s part.
In a world where the dog-eat-dog mentality is pounded in and winning is everything, this type of rivalry is absolutely refreshing. And, for me, it gives me hope that class acts in the elite levels of athletes aren’t extinct.
Tags: men's tennis, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, WimbledonShare This
By Erica -- 0 comments
July 5th, 2008
It was actually a good match. I know it was a straight-set final (7-5, 6-4), but it was a good match - so much better than I remember the Williams sisters finals being. I got in on it at the beginning of the second set (west coast time wreaks havoc with my tennis-watching habits), and I was impressed. Both WIlliams sisters were going after it, trading point for point, fighting and putting together a great match. In the end, though, it was Venus who came through to defend her 2007 title and notch her fifth Wimbledon title.
Serena started off the match great, had the early break, but couldn’t stave off Venus’ rally. Venus saved multiple break points on her serve and then turns around and broke Serena to win the first set 7-5.
The second set went Venus’ way as well at 6-4, but it was so very competitive for the first eight or nine games. Serena actually broke Venus in the early going, but Venus broke little sis right back.
I believe it was somewhere around 4-4 that I noticed Serena had stopped grunting with every point. The noise levels were definitely lop-sided and it was all coming from Venus’ side. As soon as I noticed that, I knew Serena was done. I don’t think she wanted it any less, she just wasn’t good enough on a day that Venus wanted it more.
Tags: Venus-and-Serena-Williams, Wimbledon, womens-tennisShare This
By Erica -- 0 comments
July 4th, 2008
Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal stormed their way through the Wimbledon semifinals to set up the third consecutive meeting at the Wimbly championship for the pair. We all know the story of the last two meetings: Federer winning handily two years ago and by a breath of a hair last year.
Oh the semis - Marat Safin and Rainer Schuettler are gone. Marat’s fragile emotions broke and Schuettler? He’s just - I don’t know - kinda old. The top two players demolished their opponents in straight sets with the second set a tiebreak in each match. (It’s so uncanny the way their matches have been very similar the past couple rounds!)
This year? Rafa is playing so unbelievably well. And yet - so is Roger. On grass anyway. I think everyone is pointing towards Nadal and the high level of consistency and talent he’s been putting forth on the court. It feels like people are forgetting that grass is Roger’s home field, his playground, his very own special place. And that so very painful beating Roger took at the French? You can bet the King hasn’t forgotten that and he’ll be looking to strike back on the surface he loves so well.
Roger? Rafa? I need some time to ruminate on this to pick my winner.
Tags: men's tennis, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, WimbledonShare This
By Erica -- 0 comments
July 3rd, 2008
Oh bother, they’ve done it again. We should really just start calling this tournament the “Williams’ Wimbledon”. Both Serena and Venus Williams handled their semifinal opponents in straight sets to book their third meeting in the Wimbledon final. The last time the duo was in a Wimbly final was in 2003. Serena won that title in defense of the trophy she picked up a year earlier, also at her sister’s expense.
This is five years later, however, and both of the Williams’ are playing at about the same level.
Venus ousted fifth-seeded Elena Dementieva 6-1, 7-6(7-3), and Serena dispatched surprise semifinalist Jie Zheng 6-2, 7-6(7-5). Anyone else notice the almost identical scores from the two matches? And neither sister has dropped a set en route to this final.
Both players have big serves. While I think Venus falls slightly behind Serena in the power category, she more than makes up for it with her height-induced range. Serena does hold an 8-7 career advantage but that statistic should be voided considering how long it has been since they’ve faced each other competitively. At the same time, just because it’s been years since they’ve been on the big stage together, it doesn’t mean they’ve forgotten a thing about the other’s game.
How disconcerting would that be? Knowing when you step on the court, the person who knows the most about your game outside of yourself is on the other side of the net. There are no tricks, secret shots or special formulas to whip out at a critical moment because they don’t exist in a match where the opponent already knows everything.
But - even though I’ve spent the last two paragraphs hyping up this match - I don’t think it will be amazing. I hope I’m wrong. I’m begging the tennis gods that I’m wrong, because there’s nothing better than a knock-down fight at a Grand Slam final. These are the Williams sisters though. Maybe it’s like having a double negative: too much firepower on one court really does cancel the other one out and leaves the crowd with a dud of a match.
Tags: Elena-Dementieva, Jie Zheng, Serena-Williams, Venus-Williams, WimbledonShare This
By Erica -- 0 comments
July 2nd, 2008
As Sally so graciously pointed out below, my picks were right for the Wimbledon quarterfinals (Well, except for Rainer Schuettler and Arnaud Clement who haven’t finished their match yet)! I’m amazed at myself.
The most impressive of the three completed matches was Rafael Nadal’s pounding of Andy Murray. I knew it was coming. I think a lot of us knew it was coming, and since I’m not British, I wasn’t forced by birth into rooting for lost causes.
Three lop-sided sets later (6-3, 6-2, 6-4), Murray was wiping his brow and Rafa was looking like a dominant front-runner to win Wimbledon.
On the other side of the bracket, Roger Federer continued his impressive style, winning in straight sets over Mario Ancic. Prior to the match, reporters were touting Ancic’s position as the last man to beat Federer at Wimbledon. That was in 2002. Riiiiight. That was so far from being a factor in this match that it was a non-factor. It had nothing to do with it at all, and the results (6-1, 7-5, 6-4) proved it.
Two things to note about the top two players, though.
1) While Federer hasn’t dropped a set in the tournament (Rafa only dropped one against Ernest Gulbis), Rafa is playing his way into dominating form. That scary type of domination where he’s untouchable; the same type that led him to another French Open title a few weeks ago.
2) Federer has to face down Marat Safin in the semis. Safin is on his last hurrah (until the next one comes six years from now…), and players who think their last chance is at hand can be really dangerous. Even if there wasn’t that factor, Marat is the real deal. This isn’t his first time at a grass court hoedown, and Federer could have some trouble with the big-serving Safin. However, Rafa is going to have an unknown player who is unfamiliar with this type of stage. That player - Clement or Schuettler - will have also been on the court longer, been through more stress because of rain delays and generally will probably be less on point.
Speaking of Safin, how about his comeback against Feliciano Lopez? Safin lost the first set 6-3 but a long rain break helped the Russian regroup his commonly scattered concentrations and won the next three sets 7-5, 7-6, 6-3 to set up his date with God Roger in the semis.
Ultimately, I think we see Rafa and Roger in the final again. I want Roger to win this title. I’m cursed with being a realist, however, and I’m well aware that Rafa is playing with pocket aces.
Tags: Andy Murray, Marat-Safin, Mario Ancic, quarterfinals, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, WimbledonShare This
By Erica -- 0 comments
July 2nd, 2008
Roger Federer took a commanding 6-1 first set from Mario Ancic, and it was 1-all in the second when the rains shooed them off court.
In the other quarter of this half of the draw, Feliciano Lopez holds a 5-2 first set lead before the rain break over Marat Safin. Granted, a lot can happen in a best-of-five match, but it’s not a great way for Safin to start out.
But here goes my picks. Roger over Ancic. Safin takes advantage of the rain break, comes back and takes out Lopez. In the other half of the draw, Rainer Schuettler over Arnaud Clement (I don’t know much of anything about either one of them), and as much as the entire population of the British Isles would love to see Andy Murray win, it’s going to be Rafael Nadal into the semis.
There - I’ve predicted. And since I’m quite horrible at calling games (hence why I’ve never taken up the occupation of gambling), I’ll be lucky to get two of the four.
Tags: Feliciano Lopez, Marat-Safin, Mario Ancic, Roger Federer, WimbledonShare This
By Erica -- 3 comments
July 1st, 2008
Venus Williams is another step closer to defending her 2007 Wimbledon title. In one of the most crazy, convuluted Wimbledons in recent memory, Williams became the first woman into the semifinals after dispatching Tamarine Tanasugarn 6-4, 6-3. ‘
Elena Dementieva, the highest remaining seed at number five, managed to come through a tough quarterfinal match to set up a meeting with Venus in the semis. Dementieva blew Nadia Petrova away with a 6-1 first set, but Petrova bounced back and won a tiebreak second set. The swing set went to Dementieva with two breaks at 6-3.
On the other half of the draw, Jie Zheng is already up a set on Nicole Vaidisova, winning it 6-2. You know, the further Zheng moves in the tournament, the better it makes Ana Ivanovic’s loss to her look. Don’t get me wrong. It doesn’t justify it or make it ok. It’s just that when you start out with something so horrible as the beating Ivanovic took from a relative no-name, it doesn’t take a whole lot to make it look a little better.
Agnieszka Radwanska or Serena Williams in the bottom quarter?
Tags: Elena-Dementieva, Jie Zheng, quarterfinals, Venus-Williams, Wimbledon, womens-tennisShare This
By Erica -- 0 comments
June 30th, 2008
England has got to be hoppin’ tonight!
Andy Murray pulled a miracle out of his scrawny little butt. Two sets down to the eighth-seeded Richard Gasquet is really not a great way to try and get into the quarterfinals of Wimbledon. But if Murray just wasn’t the little tall Brit that could.
The third set went the distance, and Murray came out ahead in a tiebreak. It was the turning point of the match, and Murray had all cylinders firing in the last two sets (6-2, 6-4) to make his come-from-behind victory over Gasquet complete.
Bad news for Murray and all the Brits though - Rafael Nadal is Murray’s quarterfinal opponent. ‘Nuf said.
Tags: Andy Murray, Rafael Nadal, Richard Gasquet, WimbledonShare This
By Erica -- 0 comments
June 30th, 2008
Well, it wasn’t the match I was hoping for. It wasn’t anything really. Roger Federer imposed his will on Lleyton Hewitt and ousted the Aussie in straight sets (7-6, 6-2, 6-4) to move into the quarterfinals. Federer looks good, folks. He looks really sharp.
Holy whoa! What have we got going on Court 11?! Fernando Verdasco and Mario Ancic are in an old-fashioned brawl. Verdasco won the first two sets 6-3, 6-4, but Ancic counter-punched by winning the next two sets 6-4, 6-3. Neither one is giving way in the fifth set; they’re deadlocked at 9-all. Man, I wish I was there.
How ’bout my girl Jelena? Yeah. Le sigh. Jelena Jankovic didn’t do much of anything in a piddly, po-dunk match against Tamarine Tanasugarn. T-squared gave the second-ranked Serb the boot 6-3, 6-2. I may end up having two today, but early morning Slacker of the Day honors have to go to JJ.
Both Serena and Venus Williams moved into the quarters with ease and the path to an all-Williams’ final is looking pretty sweet for the duo. Gosh, it’ll be like rolling back the clock a few years.
And Nicole Vaidisova, not at all known for her mental strength, came from a set down to move past Anna Chakvetadze for a quarterfinal berth.
The round of 16 - so very exciting - so very many matches and so very much drama!
Tags: Fernando Verdasco, Jelena Jankovic, Lleyton-Hewitt, Mario Ancic, Roger Federer, Serena-Williams, Venus-Williams, WimbledonShare This
By Erica -- 0 comments
June 29th, 2008
In all of yesterday’s happenings, there was one amazing move that I’ve replayed again and again.
In Rafael Nadal’s match against Nicolas Kiefer at Wimbledon, Rafa came into the net. He slipped to the ground on his butt just as Kiefer’s volley was coming at him. Some how, some way, Rafa got his racket on the ball to flick it back over the net. Kiefer knocked a forehand in the open court to ultimately win the point, but it was really a moot point.
The athleticism and abilities of Rafa never cease to amaze me…
Tags: Rafael Nadal, WimbledonShare This
By Erica -- 0 comments
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