Post by Outback Frito Pendejo on Jul 7, 2008 8:20:12 GMT -5
I'm a "casual" tennis fan but this match was incredible. The drama of the last 3 sets was as impressive as any sporting event I can remember, with the frequent shifts of momentum in the tie-breakers. Nadal's remarkable athletic skills allowed him to make some awesome shots, but Federer just wouldn't go away until the final point.
Normally, the rain delays would have ended our viewing midway through the match, but we just couldn't give up on this one. I can't compare it to watching one of my teams win a championship, since I didn't have a strong rooting interest, but as a pure sporting event this was as great as anything I've ever seen.
Yeah, I know this place pretty good. I went to law school here.[My5:]
Post by National Champion Chris Cole on Jul 7, 2008 8:25:12 GMT -5
Nadal is to Federer what everybody wishes Mickelson would be to Woods. At this point Federer and Nadal are really 1 and 1A. Both are so damn good its scary.
I'm far from a big time tennis fan, but that match yesterday was some of the most captivating athletic drama I will ever see in my life. It had everything you'd want in a sporting competition: two guys exchanging shot after shot after shot, with every ensuing shot seemingly one-upping the prior one, the feisty challenger pulling out every trick in the book to finally reach the top of the mountain and not be looked upon as a one trick pony clay court specialist, and the classy champion matching him every step of the way... all of this for the biggest championship of its kind.
It came off to me like one of those epic wrestling matches where BOTH guys come off as bigger stars after the match than they were before it, except only these two guys are the two top draws in men's tennis. I mean, you look at what Federer has accomplished over the past five years and change and it's mind-boggling, but yesterday proved that it's not the championships that define you - but how you carry yourself as CHAMPION that ultimately determines your legacy. I knew Federer was one of the all-time greats, but seeing how he lost, if you can even call it that, yesterday, I think it's fair to now anoint him as the greatest of all time.
As far as Nadal goes, yesterday's victory lifts him to co-alpha dog status, as Cole pointed out, alongside his fierce rival. I kinda got the feeling yesterday - and maybe that's media hype - that the "torch was passed" as Nadal FINALLY trumped Federer somewhere other than Roland Garros, but whether or not that's the case, I don't think Senor Nadal has seen the last of Roger Federer. We should be in for a few more years of this.
However, they can't top that performance from Sunday. I don't know if anyone can.
Thunderstorms and power otuages caused me to miss the end of this and I regret it. Hoping I can catch it on the tennis channel sometime soon because it sounds like a classic.
Federer is undoubteldy one of the greatest of all time - but Nadal can end up trumping Federer in the long term. Nadal is only in his early twenties, and this match proved that he is in the hunt for other majors, such as the US Open and the Australian Open. The next 3 years or so ought to be fun, at least on the men's side, because in addition to Nadal and Federe, you've also got Djokovic, who won the Australian Open this year, on the rise.
Amazing. So far Federer is 0-3 in Majors for 2008. Tell me that last year at this time and I would have called you crazy.
However, they can't top that performance from Sunday. I don't know if anyone can.
It's because it's been three years in the making. These two guys have meet in the last 3 years at the final in Wimbledon. Not only that they meet in many other finals, with the result being usually in th favor of Federer if you removed clay from the equation. If you want to compare this to golf you would need to have Tiger battle with Mickleson for 3 years at the majors, Tiger winning the the Masters, US Open and the Championship and Phil winning the British for the 3 years... That's how epic the Ferdere and Nadal game was on Sunday.
But I think the passing of the torch started last year, were Federer lost in Montreal in the finals against Dvokovic. No one saw that one coming. Now I agree that the duels Federer Nadal are far from over and they will still give us some great battles, but I think Nadal (if he can stay healthy, his still of play is very demanding) is the new #1 and Dvokovic is the new up and comming young star, not sure if he'll make it to the top, but he's the one to watch (has Eric said already). As for Federer he is the classiest player I've ever seen, and a great champ. He will still win some major championships, but not sure if he will be seated #1 in all of them.