FIFTEEN

Records are made only to be broken. Roger Federer broke Pete Sampras' record of 14 grand slam wins at the age of 27 by defeating Andy Roddick in an epic final at Wimbledon on July 5th 2009. He had to play 77 games and hit 50 aces against an equally tenacious Andy Roddick. The last set alone had 30 games and lasted 95 minutes. Federer was broken twice by Andy, and Andy was broken only once in the final set and that was enough for Roger to emerge as the champion. Final score:

Andy Vs Roger

7-5, 6-7,6-7,6-3,14-16

To Andy's credit, he was playing superlative tennis - probably the best he has ever played. What kept him away from winning was not bad play but some ungodly superlative play from Roger: In the second set tie-breaker, Andy had 4 set points on 6-2 and Roger dug himself out of it to win the set. Before Andy could realize that the set was slipping out his hands, Roger had equalized the scores to one set all. Roger made it look so very simple, to the ones watching, it looked like it was second nature to him. It was at such critical points in the match that Roger summoned the Tennis-Gods in his arms and the racket and his feet - oh those feet - watch his feet and only his feet for a few games and one knows why that man has 15 slams on his mantelpiece.
The match was being watched by such legends as Rod Laver, Bjorn Borg and the second most grand slam winner - Pete Sampras (Yes, Pete is now "second" - bitter-sweet). Tennis-pundits, sports analysts and the Internet will be once again buzz with that ever-annoying question: "Is Roger the best tennis player to have lived on the planet?" If greatness was to be measured by numbers and numbers alone then the answer is simple - yes, he is:
- has won 15 grand slams
- has been ranked number 1 for 237 consecutive weeks
- has won all the four major slams
- has reached semi-finals or better in the last 21 slams
- has been physically fit to have not missed out on the major events on the tour (this is no mean feat given the current high-power, high-energy requirements in tennis. Exhibit A: Rafa Nadal who had to sit out due to an injury)

So the numbers are very well stacked in his favor. However, every era is different and thus every era has its own "great" players. If Sampras and Becker were contemporaries to Federer, where would they rank? That's a question that tennis fans can never answer with complete confidence, and hence no single player will be the "greatest ever". But for now, Roger you are alone at the top: How's the view?

When grown men cry....

For anyone who follows tennis, any Rafa-Fed match is a gold mine and if it's a finals in a major, it's a "sone pe suhaaga" (cannot find the English equivalent for it). Today, Rafa defeated Fed on the hard court surface at Melbourne in an explosive display of tennis never seen before. Fed gave up in the fifth set (very unlike him) and Rafa emerged as a true champion. Then, came the moment when Fed accepted the runner's up trophy and he just could not hold it together...he broke down...he was sobbing...tears rolling down his cheeks...the crowd tried to bring him back, but he could not say a word! What was going through this winner of 13 majors, noone else can ever fathom!

Later on, Fed and Rafa publicly expressed their respect and admiration towards each other. It is this exchange of respect and words off the courts combined with the exchange of shots on the court between these champions is what makes this rivalry truly "legendary" and "human". Cannot wait for Wimbledon!

The Greatest Tennis Match in History

Rafael Nadal of Mallorca is the new Wimbledon Men's Champion. Today he defeated the five time champion and World number 1, Roger Federer in a 5 set emotionally charged roller coaster of a match. I am willing to go so far as to call this the greatest tennis match I have ever witnessed and feel extremely lucky to have seen such a great performance by tennis' two great players. The Rafa-Fed rivalry is one of Tennis' greatest rivalries (Bjorg-McEnroe, Sampras-Agassi, Evert-Navratilova, Graf-Navratilova are some others). These two champions are not only great tennis players but have deep respect and humility for each other's game. It could not have been more evident than today, amongst the million flash bulbs on a near dark Center Court of the All England Lawn Tennis Club. This is what Fed had to say after the trophy presentation:
"I tried everything, Rafa is a deserving champion. He just played fantastic. It was the worst opponent on the best court." He was emotional alright, he would have surpassed Bjorg's 5 consecutive victories today, he would have made history. His tennis coupled with his modesty is what makes him a true sporting legend and not just a statistical champion.
As for Nadal, he is truly the deserving champion, an aggressive player with nerves of steel and grounded feet. It was the longest Wimbledon Finals ever played - 4 hours 48 minutes of unscripted thriller tennis, two rain delays and all shots from the tennis book and more. Rafa had 4 Championship points before he eventually stopped the Federer Express (65 consecutive wins on grass).
He is not ready to call himself a great player yet - "He's still No. 1," Nadal said. "He's still the best. He's still five-time champion here and I only have one, so for me it is very, very important." More power to you Rafa.