“If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same”
from Rudyard Kipling’s poem “If” are inscribed at Wimbledon.
I am not sure other words can really describe the quality of the 2008 men’s final. The nerve each man possessed to execute shots that no one else in the world can hit was amazing. It is one thing to hit those shots when crushing someone in an early round match in a smaller tournament; it is another to do it on the final Sunday at Wimbledon when your opponent is just waiting for an opening or a let down. Sure, Federer struggled to protect his 2nd set lead and Nadal struggled to close out the 4th set, but the other guy had a lot to do with that reality. Both men walked further into immortality yesterday. Beyond the replays of the match that will undoubtedly be played for years to come, each man helped tennis transcend itself. The shots both hit expand the horizon of what is possible on a tennis court for the next generation of players.
NBC Revamp Needed:
John McEnroe and Ted Robinson’s commenting was not good in my opinion. Tastes may differ, but I would prefer a different announcing team in the future. McEnroe has great passion for announcing, but I think he needs a partner who can prevent him from going off into strange tangents, being too negative or reliving his glory days. It would be great if NBC overhauled its entire approach to covering Wimbledon and the French Open.
Roger Federer Still Has Life:
It has been popular to predict Federer’s demise. If Federer wants to do so he can remain a relevant factor on the tour for several more years. Those comparing yesterday’s loss to Federer’s 2001 victory over Sampras forget that Pete Sampras was nearly 31 and not nearly 27 when that loss occurred. Pete would be the first to tell you that Roger does not suffer from an energy sapping and recovery stalling form of anemia. Sampras’ anemia adds even more glow to his accomplishments, but if one does not have anemia one should benefit from a stamina and longevity perspective. Mats Wilander beat Ivan Lendl in 5 tight sets to win the 1988 U.S. Open and wrestle the #1 ranking away from Lendl. Ivan won the 1989 Australian Open. Pete Sampras gutted out a 4 set victory over Andre Agassi to take the 2002 U.S. Open title. Andre then won the 2003 Australian Open. Sampras watched Agassi win the 1994 U.S. Open, lost to Agassi in the 1995 Australian Open final, then lost in the 1st round of the 1995 French Open. Down and out right? Pete then won the 1995 Wimbledon and U.S. Open titles. This does not mean Roger will simply sweep to the 2008 U.S. Open title, but it does mean many champions have lost tough matches and gone on to rebound and win big titles after the fact. If Roger keeps reaching late rounds at Grand Slams, he can win his share of big events.
If I had Roger’s ear I would tell him 3 things:
1. The worst thing you imagined could happen has happened. You are still here and are still relevant.
2. You will always be relevant. Just look at how Borg, McEnroe and Vilas (among others) are treated at these events.
3. Losing cannot hurt your legacy, but winning can help it. Any win just adds to the historical haul. There are big prizes to be won in 2008 and beyond. Go play to win.
Nadal at the Top
Rafa Nadal is the top player in tennis today. He will hold this distinction through at least January 2009. His tenure as the standard bearer for tennis will have its own style and that is a good thing. New pressures come with being the man, but Nadal ought to handle this pretty well. I hope he continues to attack rather than feeling the pressure to defend prestige and ranking points. I said in my championship preview that Federer is my all-time favorite tennis player. That is still true, but I also have high hopes that Nadal will carry the banner of the sport proudly.
Lessons from the Match
It is possible to attack and play cleanly. Rafa has great net clearance on his shots and his top spin keeps many shots from ever going long. Yet, the velocity and spin he produces causes these generally error free techniques to also have a serious offensive component. The bounce after a Nadal shot is difficult for anyone to handle. Many unforced errors are forced by the almost table tennis like spin and trajectory he gets on the ball.
Fighting and self-confidence can carry a player back from the brink or hold off a stiff challenge. Both of these men believed they were going to win and played through difficult situations.
Nadal is Talented
Nadal’s racket head speed is ridiculous. A post on this site mentioned how fitness is the only thing that matters in tennis today. That really sells Rafa short. He is quick, strong and tireless, but he also has the racket head speed to control shots and even hit winners on what are normally considered to be non-winning court positions. Nadal can dictate play, but he also makes his opponent hit more than one winner to end a point when he is on the defensive. Throw in his uncanny ability to hit winners when anyone else on tour would be just fighting to stay in the point, and Nadal has a recipe for undermining confidence and creating indecision. This aspect of Nadal’s arsenal does require conditioning, but it also takes great coordination.
The Topic of Sports Talk Radio
Driving home from work I heard commentators on both ESPN and FOX Sports Radio raving about the engrossing quality of the match. This is good for tennis in every possible way. Tennis means something to the casual U.S. sports fan today even if no U.S. born players were in the final match. Imagine that.
It is worth repeating
“If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same”
from Rudyard Kipling’s poem “If” are inscribed at Wimbledon.
by Dan Martin
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