Tennis Chatter

Roger Federer defeated Rafael Nadal this Sunday to win his fifth title in a row, matching the record of Bjorn Borg. The final itself, was extremely entertaining, going five sets, before Federer came out victourious, 7-6, 4-6, 7-6, 2-6, 6-2. The commentators were continually stating that this was a match for the ages, and it is one of the greatest matches in the history of the tournament. They are wrong. Although the match wasn’t a disappointment, and was extremely competitive, neither player was at their best (especially Federer). Nadal played very good, hitting amazing passing shots and great winners, but missed some shots that he usually makes. Federer on the other hand, seemed like he was playing NOT to lose, instead of to win. His shots lacked depth and he failed to move Nadal around much. He continually pushed Nadal’s service games to 40-30, but then would just let Nadal win an easy game point. I felt he lacked his usually explosive ground game. The proof of that is his winners line. He hit 65 winners, but 24 of those were service winners. He only hit 41 winners off his ground strokes, to 34 unforced errors. Not bad, but not Federer. However he was able to dig deep, and play a very good fifth set to win the match.

The women’s final was much less competitive. Venus Williams defeated Marion Bartoli 6-4, 6-1. Bartoli hit a paltry 7 winners to William’s 29. This was Venus’s fourth Wimbledon title, showing she still can compete at a level higher than most WTA players.

Wimbledon also gave some insight into the future of men’s tennis. Djokovic, Gasquet, Berdych, Nadal, and Bagdatis are all young players who had great showings. I’d say the Djokovic, Gasquet, and (of course) Nadal are the ones to watch the most in the future. They all have strong games that can succeed on most surfaces.

On the subject of surfaces, they all seem to be getting more and more similar. The grass this year at Wimbledon was even slower than it was last year, a far cry from the grass of the 90s. During the Djokovic and Hewitt match, there were 40 shot rallies that looked like they belonged on clay. The commentators (McEnroe especially) even commented on the speed of the court several times.

Finally, I heard a lot of criticism directed toward the tournament this year. A lot people (and a few players) were complaining about the tradition, and how there was no play on Sunday. It would of made it easier on a lot of players if matches would have been played on the middle Sunday.

Federer at the champion’s dinner

Williams at the champion’s dinner