Wimbledon 2007

The Wimbledon Finals July 08 2007
I don’t really know if “gripping” is the word that I am looking for, but this match made me sit propped up in my easy chair with my feet thrown over one of its arms through all the five sets including the commercial breaks. I had to ask myself if my feet were still a part of my body after the presentation!!

It was like God had kept the final decision to Himself and as He watched gleefully through the cloudy skies over Europe; even He must have doubted the final outcome. (Pardon me for assuming God to be a tennis buff for I cannot like Him if he isn’t)
Never have I seen such a close match and all my pro-Federerism dissolved by the third set and I found myself saying,” I would support the guy who wins this”!! (I know!! Talk about betrayal!!)

I think Nadal truly rocks because
1. He never flinches and gives up, even after losing a game in four straight aces from across the net
2. He is always angry, one side of his face twisted in something close to a painful grimace. Giving a fierce asymmetrical aspect to his personality. He creates an equally charming gradient in any game throwing his opponents off balance ruthlessly.
3. He gets the King queasy and uneasy. I have always found Federer somewhat grumpy around Nadal. He is the only one who can force our beloved Mr.Cool into coming close to throwing a semi-tantrum on court for a wrong decision and lose all the following games in an utterly heartbreaking manner.
4. His ferocious demeanor wins us over as much as the opponent’s calm. The angrier he gets the better he plays. He is unabashed about showing all his feral traits on court after every game he wins even though he does not win the match!
5. He got Ms.Miroslava to bite all her expensive manicured nails!
6. Unlike his persona on court he speaks in an obviously shy and endearing manner during all the presentations, including the French Open.
7. He gets Federer to thank Luck after a torrid five setter like that.

And I (still) like Federer (more) because
1. Only he can ask the umpires to get their technology checked and sit in a chair cursing as he is being seen Live all over the world.
2. He can rain down on Nadal with his Stinger Aces and maintain his usual matter-of-fact calm during nail biting tiebreakers
3. He carries an all white suit with him assuming that he’d win and manage to change into it before the presentation while Nadal comes up as disheveled as he is on court.
4. He never jumps, jogs, sprints or dives unnecessarily. If Nadal’s play is something close to a rock concert, Federer on court is like a calculated, synchronized ballet. He is the kind of player who would pull a chair for his girlfriend on Center Court or open a door for her as gracefully as he serves.
5. He is not overtly humble or conceited. He shows he is scared and upset too! He shows his sadness when he loses and his mirth when he wins in that bright, gentle light-bulb smile. ( yeah after he is done sobbing hopelessly for the zillionth time)
6. He has the grace to tell Nadal that he is going to be around for a longer time and accept that either could have won and it was sheer luck that got him ahead.
7. He becomes the goodwill ambassador for UNICEF as quietly as he moves around the court. :)

Sorry for posting this late, but I mean it as much as I would have meant it on the 9th! :P

PS: How many of you think that Roger Federer and Daniel Radcliffe look similar in some ways?? :)
Or maybe I have just had too much of Harry Potter.

I thank my good friend Lenin for the picture and the inspiration! :)