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Roger v. Andy
I feel like I ought to have a post about the Federer vs. Roddick match at Wimbledon today, but I have oddly little to say. The fact is, despite the spectacular final score, it didn't feel like that great a match to me. Roddick dropping six consecutive points in the second set tiebreaker set a bad tone, and the rest of the match was basically just a serve-a-thon. That's Wimbledon for you, of course, but in the end it just didn't have the feel of an epic contest. How is that possible for something that ended 16-14 in the fifth? I'm not sure.
Still, it was great to see Federer get #15. If Nadal doesn't get his bum knee back in shape soon, Federer is going to end his career with a grand slam record somewhere in the 20s. Amazing.
No, I didn't understand a
No, I didn't understand a word of this either.
Serve-a-thon, indeed.
Serve-a-thon, indeed. Federer had what, 50 some aces?! When Roddick missed that backhand volley into the open court during the second set tie break I knew it was over. But still a good battle. There was a dearth of excitement among the crowd, which I put down to a missing Murray.
par4 I agreed with McEnroe
par4 I agreed with McEnroe in that it became a match that you didn't want to see somebody lose.
Crazy
C'mon -- Roddick held serve like 40+ games? Yeah, it was a serve-a-thon, but that was just crazy pressure!
Serve-a-thon indeed! They
Serve-a-thon indeed! They should eliminate these high-tech rackets and require only wooden ones. Modern tennis is like baseball with aluminum bats.
Roger v. Andy
I admire all the west coasters who got up at 6 a.m. to watch the match. As much as I wanted to see the match, there was no way in hell that I was going to get up at 6 a.m. to watch tennis since I retired. When I lived on the east coast, it was an effort to get up at 9 a.m. to watch tennis; but, I could do it because it was like getting up for work.
Wimbledon
It was so hot the whole fortnight and virtually no rain, so the court was playing super-fast, like old-time grass. It was an epic match -- 14-16 in the fifth speaks for itself.
Gutted for Roddick, but thrilled for Federer. And it seemed like every tennis legend was their to see it.
All the tennis luminaries were there.
If this means Jimmy Connors & Ilie Nastase were back at the inn, doing lines off a bird's bottom, then I'm cool with Federer winning. If not, drawing the greats for the possibility of a record was meaningless... I want the greats there, & to do what they do.
Quite right
No, you're quite right. It was an epic match . . . when looking at the scores. But rather boring when watching live.
Frankly, technology has killed tennis for me. The ball is too fast, and the rackets too precise. As a result, "serve-a-thon".
Too bad really. Tennis is a great game. Especially as played by old men who can't hit the ball too fast.
But played by today's pros . . . well, it was once a great game.
(That is not to take anything away from Federer. He is playing in his own time, and can not be blamed for the circumstances. His ground strokes are unbelievably accurate and consistent. He deserved the win -- though I feel sorry for Roddick who did all he could.)
Because...
I felt the same way: it really wasn't an epic match to watch. Sure, the final score was amazing, but watching? Meh.
For me, an amazing match must include breaking service. One man breaks, but then is broken in response, etc. That give and take is what creates the real excitement. No one could break, so epic is was not.
At least Pete Sampras
At least Pete Sampras decided to show up, even if it was at the last minute. I feel like Mary Carillo goaded him into it by pointing out that Billie Jean had come over to see if Venus could tie her record, and that doing that was the classy thing to do. Earlier in the week
McEnroe commented that he would be doing a phone interview with Sampras from California on Sunday. I think he finally realized he would look like a jerk for not coming, so he grudgingly flew over. That being said, Sampras has been keeping a really low profile since retiring.
Few things are more tiresome
Few things are more tiresome than "oh it used to be a good game, before these young people and their new technology!". It's a stupid thing to believe, worse to say.
The match looked lackluster in part because it was so well played. Federer has been on a hot streak, in perfect form, and that didn't just go away for today. Roddick just played such a surprising, varied game that it messed up Federer's rhythm. Anyone else on Federer's side of the draw would have gone down quickly in straight sets under such an assault.
It was a masterclass from both players in how to take the game away from your opponent. The whole 4 hour match was played on a knife's edge - any slip of concentration or tightness could have, and did, cost the loss of a set or the match. I found it riveting to watch.
This match was so close that a slightly different gust of wind could have pushed it one way or the other. In the fortnight leading up to this, everyone acknowledged that Federer had been playing tennis as brilliantly as he ever had. I think he continued to today. And yet he was almost lucky to win. That of course is also a difference between this year and last, when Federer was not at his best, as dominant as he has been lately.
So, yeah, I think it's quite a story that today Roddick played just as brilliantly as Federer, on his favorite turf, while in dominant form. It lacked the drama of last year's
final, but I'm not sure it was less brilliantly played.
Yes!
Thanks so much for posting this. And Dan below.
An amazing Wimbledon Final
Roger Federer threw EVERYTHING, including 51 aces and the best return-of-serve in the game's history - and yet the almost-unbelievably improved Andy Roddick still took him to a 14-16 5th set! Amazing. I love tennis, love the modern game and for me this was an incredibly exciting, technically astonishing match. Certainly there weren't a lot of crowd pleasing long rallies, but the standard throughout was just jaw-droppingly, court-blisteringly high. While Federer has rightly gained ithe majority of kudos and headlines by breaking truly mpressive records for his win, for me the real story was Roddick. Everybody expected Roger to win - and most expected him to win rather easily - and yet, for most of the match it genuinely looked like Roddick was going to pull off the biggest upset in grand slam history.
Sorry, Kevin, if that isn't the story, and reality, of a truly great Wimbledon final - I don't know what is.
Wimbledon
After reading all these posts, It seems to me that most of you folks don't follow tennis much. I consider your opinions are pretty much meaningless. Mr. Drum, you have little to say because you have nothing worth saying.
Congratulations to Federer.
Congratulations to Federer. But also congratulations to Roddick - last time I saw
him play Federer, he was clearly and completely outclassed, always stretching and
off-balance and never having the slightest chance to win. This time round he played
terrifically well and could easily have won if just a couple of points had gone his way.
He has obviously worked hard and improved enormously, and if he can maintain
yesterday's level of play he'll have several major titles over the next few years.
As for Federer, his consistency and mental toughness are just astonishing. Every
single major, he's in contention, he's never less than excellent., he only ever
loses to other top-5 players, and then only when they bring their A-game. And this
time, Roddick brought his A-game and Federer just hung in there, seized his
opportunities, and came out on top yet again. Amazing.
I think what we're seeing in men's tennis is very much like what happened in golf
after Tiger burst on the scene: the new guy dominates for a while, and then the
others work harder and raise their game to try to compete.
I enjoyed it!
I disagree, Kevin; I thoroughly enjoyed watching. I was quite impressed with Roddick's ability to keep his serve despite the pressure; breaking is quite dramatic, true, but standing up to that pressure basically added up to the match of his life.
I never quite got what was going on with the whole Federer/Nadal thing, since I had never seen either man play before; I pretty much stopped watching tennis because I couldn't stand to watch Pete Sampras!
So, I have to say I'm glad to have come back to find a love-to-hate-him, Eurotrash-looking, honest-to-goodness character on the scene again. I'll be sure to tune in to the U.S. Open next month!
say what?
That was an amazing match. The pressure to hold serve 9 times in a row to save the match in the final set -- against Roger Federer no less -- should never, never be understated. Federer is amazing, clearly, but I came away honestly more impressed on that particular Sunday with Andy Roddick, who despite his 2-18 record coming in, played the match of his life, with as much heart, grit and desire as I have seen watching tennis the last 30+ years.
So congrats to Federer, probably the most amazing and consistent shot maker I have ever seen, but also to Roddick who showed a champion's heart and class in defeat.
Federer
I agree with all who say the match was extremely well played. Because both men were serving so well, the points lacked the 'what will happen next?' aspect of the Nadal-Federer matches. There were few nail-biting rallies, but both men played incredibly well, under enormous pressure, particularly Roddick, who was able to prevent Federer from launching into full flight, which is what we all enjoy watching him do. Roddick was able clip Federer's wings a bit, which was a huge accomplishment, Federer was able to win anyway, which was an even bigger one.
where are the tennis players?
Anyone who has played tennis competitively, no matter what age or level, will tell you it was a great match. It was only boring in the sense that a pitching duel in baseball is boring, or a tied final pairing in golf is boring. The drama is in the thin margins for error. Every single point in the fifth set was filled with drama; who was going to mishit, who was going to over hit, was it worth it to take risks or be more strategic and conserve energy, etc., etc., etc. It was a GREAT match in the playing, regardless of the history-making significance.
BTW, there were some great shots in the match too, for those who just wanted to see fireworks.