Review: Men's final, Wimbledon 2009

At the end of the final of 2008, people were convinced that they will never witness a match of that intensity ever again. There were writers who had confessed to saying that they actually felt it was impossible to review such a match. How could people ever describe what they saw, in mere words? But then life moves on and a year later, on the hallowed lawns of SW19 normal service was about to return. The finest player of all time was slated to meet his ‘bunny’ Andy Roddick in the final, victory in that would have ensured him Slam no. 15, a return to the top of the ATP rankings and more than anything else, that one trophy that he treasures the most, much more than even his solitary French Open crown. Everyone, almost everyone including yours truly had predicted not just a Roger Federer victory but a victory that would be a straight setter. Why and how could we have predicted anything different? Here was a match-up between two players of whom one had won 18 of the 20 contests that they have had. Yes, more often than not whenever Roddick were to have faced Federer, people would talk about how, this was a different Roddick, how ‘this time’ around Federer wont have it easy and how things had changed for the American and how his serves were of the ‘impossible to return’ types. Only thing was that, almost every single time, Federer would still have triumphed and with reasonable ease dare I say. Keeping all such things in perspective it was mighty difficult to bet against the 14-Slam champ, not just difficult but near impossible. Which is why, writers across the globe would had this strange sense of deja vu yesterday night whilst jotting down their thoughts. How could you describe what you just saw? As skillful a writer you may be, how could you transport your reader to a place which seemed surreal for close to 4.5 hours. Whatever you might write, however you might describe, you knew you weren’t going to capture the classic that you just witnessed. If last year’s final left you dazed, this one was no less, in the truest sense of the word. In sports, this line is often used; there deserved to be no loser today, for the real winner was the sport itself. I personally have not been much of a fan of that, but yesterday I knew and realized how true those words were. Roger Federer ended up winning his Wimbledon trophy no. 6, while Andy Roddick won close to 6 million hearts. [or may be many moré than that]

It was touted to be an ‘open and shut’ case for Federer to clinch this one. Even as the first few games went on serve, you almost had this feeling that the maestro will break at the opportune time, as he has been throughout his career. Errors were flowing from the Federer forehand but anyone’s who’s witnessed him over the past 2 years or so wouldn’t have been utterly surprised. Federer was never going to be the dominating force that he was between 2004 and 2006 but even when out-of-form he used to do enough to, well, win matches! However, Roddick seem to be inspired as those bombs from his racquet just wont stop. Federer on his part, continued to hold fort as well. His 1st serve percentage was in the mid 60s but Roddick’s was at a much higher 75+ percent, also he was serving with far greater speed. Nonetheless, things went on serve until at 5-5, Federer stepped on the gas. As has been his wont, he seems to break his opponent’s serve just at the right time and this time around too, things seemed to follow the course. The American however had other plans. 4 break points the no. 2 seed had and 4 break points did the American ended up saving. Moreover, Federer had his serve broken in the very next game. Game, 1st set Roddick, 7 games to 5! Pete Sampras who was there to witness the final must have felt that his record might live to see a few more months after all, surely and especially with the way Roddick was serving.

To say that there was a spring in the stride of A.Rod would be to state the very, very obvious. He seemed possessed, and at the same time, meditative as well. There were no signs of the old, brash Roddick. No ultra aggressive gestures towards his box, no real gung-ho emotions. It almost seemed as if, things were going so according to the script for him that he was least surprised by whatever was happening around him. Those rockets off his serve were still coming at full throttle and for the 1st time in all of their matches, Federer had no clue as to how to return. The only comforting factor for Federer fans was that he was comfortably holding his own serve. That break of his service game at the crucial juncture in the 1st set seemed a one-off and the Swiss maestro was in no mood to repeat that mistake. A tie-breaker was a given and a tie-breaker it was that was to settle the 2nd set. What followed however, was by no stretch of imagination, a ‘given’. Years later when this match might be discussed [and you bet it will be] this breaker would be the most talked about part of the classic. Federer seemed frozen, suddenly his serve had given way and Roddick seemed to be all over him. Within no time, the tie-break scoreboard read as: Roddick leads 6:2. Yes, the American had 4 set points to go up by 2 sets to love. As peerless as Federer has been all his life, and as many times he may have come back from the dead, even as recently as in the recently concluded French Open, to repeat that against a super-inspired Roddick would have been next-to-impossible! Roddick served at 6:2 and a classic rally followed, a rally that displayed the full array of Federer’s grounstrokes at the end of which Roddick had managed to let 1 set point go away. Federer had pulled off a sensational backhand cross court winner and then won the next 2 points on his own serve. Roddick still had one more set point and this time, again on his own serve. Another rally followed, Federer just did not want to give up but in the end, Roddick seemed to have put one way well off Federer’s reach. But the Master just about managed to get his racquet on it, and the ball anyway seemed to sailing over the court. Roddick however didn’t seem all that sure as he sprung to hit that off his backhand. A backhand volley that he would have made 9 times out of 10, may be 99 times out of 100. This time though, it had to be mishit. From 6-2, it was 6 all now. Federer didn’t need a second invitation thereafter as he wrapped up the next 2 points. A huge roar from the Champ and we knew, it was ‘game on’!

Roddick was bound to be shell-shocked at what had transpired, the full extent of that was revealed when he actually walked on the wrong side at the start of the 3rd set. Nonetheless, as Roddick revealed later during his post-match interview, he had two options at the end of the 2nd set. Wilt under depression and pressure or trade punches again. He chose the latter option and it showed in the 3rd set, which followed a near similar pattern as the 1st two sets. Hardly any break point opportunities were earned and things seemed headed for another tie-breaker. Federer however seemed the slightly better player and with the confidence that the 2nd set result might have given him, that was to only be expected. The tie-breaker was a one-way traffic of sorts and Federer won it with relative ease. 7 points to 3, and the 5-time Champ was leading the final by 2 sets to 1. Surely, that 1st set seemed like an aberration now and the coronation ceremony was only a matter of time. Only that, the no. 6 seed had other plans.

If theres one thing that Federer has been most critical of in the past one year or so, then its been his supposedly casual approach to matches in which he seems to be comfortably placed. Be it his twin losses to Djokovic this year [At Miami and at Rome] or his losses to Gilles Simon and a bunch of other players, Federer has often squandered matches from winning positions, all of them due to his obvious, loss of focus. It seemed that the man had forgotten that there was still a set to be won before this match could be settled and Roddick it was this time around who needed no second invitation. An early break of serve meant that he went up 3-1 and within no time, that scoreline read 4-1. Roddick’s serve was yet to be tested in the final and with the prospect of a coveted 1st Wimbledon crown, he was in no mood to get it tested in the 4th set. Federer kept holding his serve but that was of little use in the end as the American kept holding his with even more ease. At 5-3 he served out for the set and he did so in some style. For the 3rd straight year, the men’s final at SW19 had gone into a 5th set. And just as it happened in 2008, there was one man, who was contesting his 3rd final against that one opponent who had defeated him in the earlier 2 finals. Rafael Nadal had got his revenge in 2008, was it going to be Andy Roddick’s turn in 2009?

This wasn’t for the faint hearted, the 5th set. I personally haven’t been privileged enough to have witnessed Ali and Frazier trade blows in their heady days. But I don’t think Federer and A.Rod were far from doing the equivalent of that on the Tennis court. This was a far cry from last year’s baseline slugfest. This was high octane, classical grass-court tennis with huge serves and the occasional ‘serve and volley’ dominating the course. Not to say that the players weren’t under pressure, Federer at one point in time had to save 2 break points and he eventually managed to not just save them but also ended up winning the next 2 points to clinch the game. Roddick however had far less trouble holding his own serves and herein lied the code that the champion had to crack. The 5th set at Wimbledon has no tie-breakers and if Federer hadn’t been able to break his rival in over 4 hours of Tennis, what were the odds on him doing that in the 5th set. Everything, including the momentum factor, pointed towards an upset Roddick win but Federer wasn’t ready to throw in the towel yet. It was almost as if the God was telling him that no. 15 wont come as easy as he thought but the champion was prepared to toil and grind and do whatever it takes to triumph. As Roddick said after the match, this is one aspect of Federer that rarely gets any press though it actually is such an integral part of personality. That the great man does possess immense character to at times grind his way to win matches but then the ‘free flowing and genius’ part of his game is so well known that the not-so-glamorous part of his repertoire doesn’t get much mention. The 5th set was the perfect testimony to the same as Federer kept pushing Roddick; the latter was increasingly getting into 30-30 kind of situations in his service games as Federer clearly was beginning to up the ante. It must be mentioned though that he had the great advantage of serving first in the set, nevertheless he had that plus in the final of 2008 as well. This time around though, he seemed determined to make full use of it. This set had already become the longest 5th set in the history of grand slam finals [in terms of no. of games played and amount of time taken] and clearly, someone had to give way at some stage. After 4 hours of ultra-high-octane Tennis, it was Roddick who blinked after all. He held fort till 10 all, 11 all, 12 all, 13 all, 14 all. And that was it. Federer once again took the lead at 14 all to go up 15-14 and the following game was to be the final one, of the final. Federer who had till then failed to break his rival’s serve in the match had managed to get to 30-40. Championship point, his first one of the match and he did not need a second one! A mishit of the Roddick forehand was enough to make the Swiss Maestro leap in delight. The 4 hr+ classic had come to an end, history was made, Slam no. 15 was finally in his bag, and the world no. 1 spot was his again. Most importantly, as stated earlier, the one Slam that he treasures most above all others, was back in his kitty. Roger Federer was a Wimbledon champion once again!

What about Roddick? Where does he go from here? Why did he have to jump at that ball in the 2nd set breaker? Was it nerves? Has Federer gotten into his head when it comes to big matches? Such questions are bound to be thrown at the American. But it would be best to echo the sentiments and words of the man who had the final word at his post-match presser. After a series of questions which were met with atypical Andy Roddick replies, this journalist said, ‘liberate this man’. And that’s what we should all do. Roddick may return stronger after this; with a brand new coach and apparently brand new work ethics, there’s no reason to think otherwise. But then there’s every chance that he may never be the same man again. Such demoralizing defeats can shatter players [Bjorn Borg anyone?] At this point in time, we wouldn’t know the answers, only time will tell. Right now, all one can hope is that people will remember his contribution towards providing the ‘match of the year’ so far and one of the finest modern day Grand Slam final. Federer was a worthy winner [unlike a lot of people, I do not think that the better player did not win], he has every reason to be proud of his achievements. After this victory, not even the Gods would want to question his status as the ‘Greatest of all time’. But if there was one match, wherein the vanquished deserved as much mention and respect as the victor, then this was it. What stood out most for me, was the manner in which Roddick presented himself after the match. At the entrance of the Center Court lies an inscription that reads, “If you can meet with triumph and disaster. And treat those two imposters just the same”. Timeless lines from Rudyard Kipling that had been lived by Roger in 2008 and now Andy in 2009!

Take a bow, both of you!

Preview: Men's Final, Wimbledon 2009

Things happen and how! For 237 weeks, a man looked invincible, sitting comfortably atop the rankings and winning almost everything on the tour. That was until his dream of winning the French Open was shattered once again, and shattered in some way at that! His most humiliating defeat alongwith his ‘mono’ problem seemed to have shaken the man so badly that a month later, his pet ‘Wimbledon’ crown too escaped from his grasp. Slowly but surely, one could see the earth shaking and we finally had the earthquake on 18th of August last year; Rafael Nadal had finally displaced Roger Federer as the new no. 1. And for the next nine months or so, it seemed that we had a real worthy no. 1, who much like his predecessor was winning virtually everything in front of him. But then, like it happened with the former champion, a physical problem [knees, in this case] and the loss of his ‘pet’ French crown showed, more than anything else, how difficult it is to keep winning day in, and day out. Rafa’s problems have actually gone on to project how peerless a player Federer has been. An opportunity would present itself tonight for him to do the double whammy, win his 15th major and get back on the top of the ranking charts. Surely, this has to be one of the more important Wimbledon final of the recent past, from a pure ‘historical’ point of view and for other reasons as well. Old foes, Roger Federer squaring off against American Andy Roddick, himself a 2-time finalist here.

On the face of it, it looks like an ‘open and shut case’ really. A person who’s won a mere 2 matches out of 20 shouldn’t even be talked about, but that’s ofcourse assuming your name is not Andy Roddick. Any one who knows even a bit about his character and who’s especially seen the way he’s played over the past 18 months or so [ever since he parted ways with Jimmy Connors as his coach] will admit that there seems to be a purpose in the way he plays. No wonder then, that he registered his one of only two wins over Federer during this 18 month period. His wins over Hewitt and then Murray in the semi-final was awe-inspiring to put it mildly and that must give him some confidence atleast. But you have to admire the man for something else as well, and that’s his ‘attitude’. For a man who’s got such a terrible record against an opponent, the manner in which he seems to fight on the court is, well, admirable! You see any of his matches against the Swiss Maestro and you never, “never” get the feeling that he’s thrown in the towel. A lot of their matches have been very closely fought but the fact that Federer almost always seems to have found his number have tended to make people lose respect for the American. No wonder then Roddick thinks that people ought to remember that he too, ‘can play some tennis sometimes’. And it’s because of that attitude of his that Federer needs to be wary of his rival. There’s every chance that Federer could win his no. 15 in no time, it could end up being a real one-sided contest as well but to expect Roddick to get intimidated, or feel the pressure, or feel the nerves on seeing someone who literally ‘owns’ him would be foolhardy. Roddick, much like Hewitt, is one of the greatest competitors on the circuit. Anyone who’s remained in the top 10 for well over six years now can’t be any less than that and he will feel good about himself. Expect the man to fancy his chances, given the kind of form he is in.

And yet, for 99.9999% of the public, Federer will remain the obnoxiously overwhelming favourite, myself included. Roddick will feel good about his chances but Federer might just feel better. His quarter-final encounter against Ivo Karlovic went on to show the kind of form he’s in; a man who was never broken in any of his matches before in the tournament was broken in just the 4th game of the match. That, and the return of his ‘extremely effective’ serve, amongst a host of other reasons, puts him as the big favourite. As Tommy Haas puts it, the man’s got no weaknesses really and so it becomes a futile exercise really to even talk about the ‘host of other reasons’. But what stands out most about Federer and one could sense this from the beginning of the Madrid Masters, is that physically he seems to 100%. Mono seems to be a thing of the past and his back is just about perfect as well, far from what his fans got to see at the Shanghai Masters last season. And then ofcourse, its his living room, the Center Court at SW19. A chance to win the one title that he treasures the most and then as stated earlier, a chance to get on top of the rankings as well. He’s a human however [his opponents over the years may disagree with this though] and some amount of nerves and pressure may be felt but Federer has been a champion at handling those over the years. Even if Sampras himself would be there to watch the final, you’d expect the latest 14-Slam champion to have entered unchartered territory by Sunday night .

Yes, A.Rod’s a fine competitor. We weren’t trying to be diplomatic while talking about his chances for the final, we weren’t “trying” to give him respect that he’s not worthy of, we aren’t even being hypocritical while showering accolades on him and then saying its Federer, after all, who’s the top dog to win the title. Far from all that, in case any of the readers were thinking on those lines. Its just that, we’re living in times where the men’s tour is full of good to very good to some great players as well. But then it also happens to have one ‘superhuman’ who ends up making most look ordinary. A pity for some, a real joy and privilege for most fans though.

After the final of 2005, when Roddick was asked, how his mood was and whether he’d want to talk about the match, his reply was quick as usual. “I’m more in the mood to have some beer” he quipped. Chances are high that, he’d want to say something similar post the final of 2009.

Federer, in straight, for me.