An Unforgetable Night That I Want To Forget

Have you ever felt betrayed?
Have you even gone through a living nightmare?
Have you ever raised your hope when there was almost no hope anymore but only to be dashed later?

Yes, I had gone through all of it. All in one night. Wimbledon 2008, Gentlemen’s Single Final. Mr. R. Federer versus Mr. R. Nadal.

Betrayed because Federer lost in two Slams Finals in less than a month. Gone through a living nightmare seeing Federer down in the first two sets in the Wimbledon Final (and he is the King of grass court), witnessing all the unforced errors and mishits .. yes MISHITS made my living nightmare even worse. Yet, I still have hope in him, and yes he proved it, won the two sets later, but then lost the final set.

I have been a fan of Roger Federer more than a year now. I cannot comment on the technicalities of his games, but somehow the word ‘cool’ does reflect his style and attitude on court. Obviously, I do not know him personally (the closest that I got with Roger was when he came to Kuala Lumpur in 2007, I was about less than 5 meters from him).The main thing I like about him is that he is equalizing and breaking records. 2008 was supposed to be the year Federer would break or at least equalize Pete Sampras’s Most Grand Slam Title Won record (14 Grand Slams). The mother of all tennis’s records. No chance for that now.

I have been following closely Federer’s route to the final. All the games he received praises as he did not drop a set. I am truly excited as Federer was shutting off what the critics had said about him prior to Wimbledon.

The main criticism was that Federer was vulnerable. In my opinon, yes and no. NO because Federer should not be labeled as vulnerable since he did get into the semifinal in Australian Open 08 and the finals in both the French Open and Wimbledon. YES he was vulnerable but only to Nadal. What happen to all the flawless tennis he showed in the last fortnight?

However, he was not himself in the finals. At times, I have a feeling that he was not just playing for the trophy but more importantly for his pride.

Nadal was a better player that night. The muscular leftie Spaniard with a cool looking racket. The best example of great stamina and spirit. A true example of ‘it aint’ over till the fat lady sings’. A well deserved champion. As much as I had to painfully digest over what has happened, I have to respect Nadal for his spectacular performance.

I was expecting a piece of history been made, Federer marking new record in Wimbledon, but alas, a different history was made. The changing of guards.

What happened in the wee hours of Monday the 7th July has happened before in tennis’s history. It has happened to Bjorn Borg in 1981 and Pete Sampras in 2001, now it’s Federer’s time.

The match will be a classic match. Fans will talk about it for many years to come. For me, I will do my best to refrain from reading, discussing or even having thoughts about it. As it is simply too painful.

Could it have been the second delayed due to rain that made Federer lost his concentration on the final set? Arghhhh stop it. Enough is enough.

By

Topspin TJ