Wimbledon: Championship Ruminations

[David Jimerson]

Well, tomorrow will be a number of firsts:

The first rematch of the French Open final . . . ever. At least in the Open era.

The first Spaniard in more than 30 years.

The first possible back-to-back French Open-Wimbledon win in 26 years.

You gotta give Federer the edge for no other reason than he's so dominant on grass right now. But . . .

Nadal has beaten him each of the six times they've met this year, and seven out of the eight times they've met in total.

Nadal, like Mauresmo today, has more to want. Will it mean he wants it more? We'll see.

A Nadal victory, of course, would mean a number of things. Federer would likely slip out of #1. And after decades of Swedes, Germans, Australians, and Americans dominating the men's game, there will be some fresh national blood. He would be only the second Spaniard ever to win the big W.

Like I said, you've got to give Federer the edge. But it should be a great match.

 

[Isaac_Brody]

Yeah, Nadal is playing great tennis right now. He looks even better than when he played in Paris. Should be a great match.

 

[David Jimerson]

If nothing else, at least we're seeing some more players emerge who could challenge Federer. For a while there, he was the only thing going. I've wondered how well he'd fare in a field of worthy competitors -- like many of the greats of the past had to. We may be finding out.

 

[Isaac_Brody]

I'm really impressed at Nadal's maturity and humility as a player. Here's what he said when talking about playing Federer.

"I'm inferior to him here; I don't have any doubt and neither does anyone...I think that's clear. But knowing that, I have to work. I have to try to put in place a tactic that will help compensate for that inferiority and balance out the match. And if I do that, then things can happen. We will see. I think I'll have to play the best match of my life. If I manage it and he gets a bit nervous, it's possible."

Nadal is the only one to break Federer. Should be good.

 

[David Jimerson]

GREAT match. Great things are to come from Nadal.

 

[c.g._eads]

I don't like Nadal. And I think, over time, he'll start to wear on people. At first glance you love him because he has the flair, the long hair, the youth, and a unique game. But after you get past that, he's not very charismatic, and actually a little off-putting -- his jumping up and down, sprinting back to the baseline -- players don't like that. To them they see a guy who's saying "Look at me! Look at me!". This was never more evident than in the semifinal when he was playing Bhagdatis. The entire crowd was pulling for Bahg-man. This divide will only grow over time. It was good to see Federer beat him. This should give him confidence on other surfaces. It looks like these guys will meeting a lot more.

 

[David Jimerson]

Do not be surprised if Nadal takes the W next year. This match really reminded me of the Graf/Martina final, 1987.

 

[c.g._eads]

He definitely did better than I thought he would. But that's just because Federer has had to read one month's worth of media crowing about how Nadal is better than him. He was more nervous than I've ever seen him in a match, missing putaway forehands and shoulder-high volleys. Now that he knows he can *beat* Nadal, I think it will be different. The Open should be fun.

p.s. Anybody know where Andy is?

 

[David Jimerson]

Oh, I think it's more like Federer finally has someone who can beat him and he doesn't really know how to deal with it, considering he hit at a time when the men's game simply had no upper crust. I mean, Roddick? Come on. In any other decade he'd be a Todd Martin or Tim Mayotte at best. The game simply has no greats right now, not like it's usually littered with, and I think Federer looked a little better than he really is because everyone else is second-tier.

Then, enter Nadal. Heck, enter Baghdatis, 'coz it looks like he might have some chops, too. They're both very young and their best days are ahead of them. Anything can happen, of course, but Federer's path to a record 8 Wimbledons suddenly looks awfully rocky and uphill.

Now, if he really IS the greatest ever, this will push him harder toward it. But if he's just taking advantage of the vacuum, we're going to find that out, too.