rdhstlr23
Go Fins!
Absolutely unbelievable. I haven't gotten this much into a tennis match since the Agassi/Sampras days. I'm not a real tennis buff, but it's hard to not watch these two guys play. Unreal.
There will never be another scene quite like it, or another match, for that matter. Wimbledon closed down a 132-year era Sunday night with the greatest tennis match ever played.
That's not just The Chronicle's opinion, but the measured view of Bud Collins and a half-dozen of the most experienced tennis writers in the world, all of them in a state of stunned admiration as they sat down to address their keyboards. They held fast to the John McEnroe-Bjorn Borg legend for 28 years, and hated to give it up, but Rafael Nadal's 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-7 (8), 9-7 victory over Roger Federer set the standard of brilliance.
An innovative Centre Court roof, retractable and an answer to every rainstorm, will be in place next year - and not a moment too soon. It was so dark at 9:16 p.m., the moment Federer's netted forehand ended this match, they couldn't have played another game. But that only adds to the magic. Bared to the skies since 1877, the fabled venue seemed to take on a mind of its own, extending the last roofless Wimbledon until the last vestiges of light.
What a scene: Nadal flat on his back after four hours and 48 minutes of glory, the longest Wimbledon final in history, made nearly two hours longer by a pair of rain delays. Nadal propelling himself into the Friends Box (leave it to Rafa to take the most difficult route) and coming out of it with a Spanish flag. Nadal walking along the roof above the TV broadcasters to reach the Spanish royalty, Prince Felipe and Princess Letizia of Asturias, who made the very worthwhile journey to London. And then Nadal back on the court, in a swirl of flashbulbs, to celebrate the first Wimbledon men's victory by a Spaniard since Manuel Santana in 1966.
Even for those who have closely followed Nadal's career, it was difficult to grasp the breadth of his accomplishment. He should have been a broken man after those two spirit-crushing tiebreakers. Time after time, on crucial points, Federer rendered him helpless with punishing aces. Federer is "the best in the history," as Nadal put it, and once his disappointment gives way to perspective, he'll know he hit some of the most clutch shots ever witnessed.
"It's hard for me to appreciate it right now," Federer said afterward. "I can't look at it as a feel-good thing. Probably later in life, I'll be happy about the way I fought, the way it lived up to expectations. And congratulations to Rafa, a great competitor."