Monday, July 09, 2007

Welcome to Centre Court,british summer has set in...

One of the finest tennis matches in a long time was yesterday's Federer vs Nadal. Games running into 5 sets is a trier of all kinds, to the players especially. What a comeback for the Fedex in the last set, that was. But,the hero undoubtedly was Rafael Nadal. I'm a self-confessed fan of Federer but to be fair to yesterday's match,it belonged to Nadal. Some of his cross-court shots were with great precision which the World No 1. could not match,his physical stamina was stunning. Nadal yesterday could have lifted the Himalayas in his left hand,that was his strength. And above all, he appeared to have a mental disposition that seemed to say, 'Look how I can handle the grass'!

Anyway,the day belonged to the Swiss man,who humbly admitted to have been lucky.However, his intelligence on grass was sprouting off now and then, almost in every set and that's why he was able to see Nadal eye-to-eye till the last. No wonder, they say 'battle of equals'!! phew,my heart was jumping yesterday!

Looking at it in a neutral manner,the game was poised equally,so it is unfair to give Nadal so much advanatage. But what made it special for him was probably the fact that he pushed the match to a five-setter and that was his moment of glory. That was the punishing factor for Federer. What a match!!

Above all,it was a match that audience was seen loving through and through. How I wish I was sitting amidst those people and applauding the victory of human spirit, whoever it may be! Perfect british weather(not counting the rain earlier) and beautful Wimbledon centre court,royal feel,precision and all old-world glory is a beautiful feeling.

The best thing about yesterday was the sight of three greats - Bjorn Borg,Boris Becker and John McEnroe. Men who made a difference to this world sitting there to encourage the men who are going to make a difference to this world!.Awesome feeling,great tennis,excellent weather,mind-boggling aces by Federer(in the last set) all these took me back to old memories of growing up when my cousin Jayanthi akka and I used to discuss tennis ( pretty much all sports) and I used to be in awe of her knowldege of every nitty-gritty thing in tennis,cricket,whatever. My interest in sports was fuelled by her and the first thing I did after the match was to call her and discuss yesterday's match!

Jayanthi akka, am so glad you watched it yesterday amidst all your household duties!! Somethings, don't change isn't it ? One of them is Wimbledon...