“God, it’s killing me”, the great man said and my heart broke. Roger pats Rafa as he walks past to collect his trophy. Just when my mind coaxes me to get angry at the man responsible for causing this pain, he goes around and puts his arm around Roger. Aaaah ... Damn.. shame on me. My heart melts, Sportsmanship was the clear winner. Two Gentlemen at their finest behavior.
One Spanish bull and the other a Swiss velvet sledgehammer. Contrasting tennis players on court, but off it, completely similar. Humble & Gracious both in victory & defeat. Roger set the standards and i'm proud that Rafa has followed in his footsteps. I don't think I've seen nicer guys than them in the entire planet and these 2 champs are supposed to be fierce rivals. They are definite role models for ordinary humans like us who go overboard after every one of their classic encounters.
Well, it was a roller coaster ride. I hope to see few more days of tennis like this when im alive. If the Wimbledon final was out this planet, then this one was out of this universe. Rafa nadal, with nerves & legs of steel, simply was the tougher one. There are no adjectives to describe the sheer desire of this man to beat the best, that's why sport is played. Roger's done it before and now the youngster has.
Looking back at the game, rafa converted roger's winners to his and federer's serve let him down the entire match. The quality of groundstrokes was pure magic, unhuman almost.
Rafa has grown as a tennis player, from the mud of Paris to the grass of London to Melbourne's synthetic turf, he has done it in less than a year. He is at the peak of his powers, both physically and mentally and i hope he sustains this level to achieve greatness over the next few years.
Roger may not be the supreme force he was a few years back but has a goal to achieve this year. The champion that he is, i'm sure he will. His tears today showed how much the game means to him, hell he even cries when he wins (check out the last link at the bottom). Many might not give him a chance at the French, but i genuinely believe he can. Will Nadal be there to stop him again. What are the odds i say :-)
Go Roger , Go Rafa , I love your tennis, I love your sportsmanship , I love being alive to watch it !!!
I just wish i was playing sport.
Federer cries in defeat and
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJ3-pLYHCNw&feature=related
in victory.
http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=72lhUIp2GUw&feature=related
