Rafa Wins History-making Battle
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, WimbledonRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Wimbledon
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