In what has to be arguably the best Wimbledon final - heck, best Grand Slam final - ever, Rafael Nadal squeaked past Roger Federer in five intense and absolutely gruelling sets of out-of-this-world tennis. It was so tense that I actually stayed up until 430am to finish the match. It lasted 4 hours 48 minutes, the longest men's final ever. And that's not counting the two rain delays - one that came towards the end of the third set and another that came in the start of the 5th - or the fact that it started about half an hour late also because of rain. And me being the Nadal fan that I am, I actually stayed up to watch the whole trophy ceremony.The final had it all - swings in momentum, fantastic rallies, unbelievable mental toughness from both players, breakpoints, set points, and even match points saved.
Rafa won the first set after breaking Roger early. Then he was down a break in the second set when he managed to break Roger back twice to take a commanding 2-0 lead. One more set and the title would be his.
But Federer is the best grass court player this decade - the defending champion has won a record equalling five Wimbledon titles in a row, a record 10 consecutive grass court tournaments, and a record 65 consecutive matches on grass. He was not about to roll over and die. He took the 3rd set to a tie-break where he scored a mini-break of serve and held on to it to take the third set.
The fourth set was decided once more in a tie-break. Nadal initially had the upper-hand, he was 5-2 up, with two mini-breaks of serve and was two points away from the title. But nerves got to him and he double faulted. Nadal actually had two matchpoints in the tie-break, but on each occasion Roger raised the level of his game to even things out. And when Rafa hit a backhand long on Roger's 2nd set point, the match was dead even at two sets apiece. Oh the stress!
I was seriously worried in the fifth set. Roger seemed to have the momentum on his side, and for a few games he seemed to have figured out Rafa's forehand. Moreover, most players who led 2-0 and had match points who then found themselves in a fifth set would have withered and died. But not Rafa. He showed that his mental frailty in the 4th set tie-break was temporary and proved his mettle by staying toe-to-toe with Roger until 7-all.
It was at this point that Nadal then scored the all important break of serve to leave him serving for the match at 8-7. By now the it was almost half past nine and the lighting was very poor. But matchplay continued. Rafa had another match point which Roger saved with a sublime cross-court backhand. Finally, on his fourth matchpoint, and after nearly five hours of nerve-wracking, breathtaking tennis, Roger hit his forehand to the net to hand Rafa the title.
It has to be the absolute best match I have ever seen in my entire life. Any other male tennis player who saw that match probably realized just how much ground they have to cover before they can really challenge the world's top 2 tennis players, at least on grass.
Nadal has now won a tour-leading 6 titles this year, including two Grand Slam titles. He is still behind Roger but so far this year he's had the best results by a mile. If he can continue to do well, he has a strong chance to finish this year as the #1. Which I think he truly deserves.
Go Rafa!
No comments:
Post a Comment