What makes Wimbledon great?

Sport has a way with human emotions. It transcends geographical boundaries and let people enjoy and adore such great athletes with amazement. There are tournaments that are crown jewels in every sport and lift that particular sport by a few notches. Every football player who trades his wits in Europe wants to play in the Champions League. In Cricket, it’s about being part of a World Cup winning team. Wimbledon is one such event that catches the breath of the tennis world. You may be a winner of 3 other grand slams and World No 1 but you are not regarded as great until you walk out SW19 as Wimbledon Champion.

So what makes Wimbledon special? Is it the place, the royals, the whites or the strawberries? The same set of players who compete in Wimbledon battle week in week out for the rest of the year. But why do great Champions cry in the post match presentation only at Wimbledon? What makes such legends like Sampras and Federer even at 30 years of age and 6 titles already in the kitty, come back and win it like it was their first? Why this romance with the tournament which first started as a fundraiser?

When I first started watching Wimbledon, it was a time when Pate Sampras took over the baton from Boris Becker. When Pistol Pete, with his cool demeanor and a vibrant smile, broke down in the post match presentation, I wondered why a sports person would cry for winning a tournament. But it took me 9 years to know the answer when Goran Ivanisevic’s near impossible journey from a wild card ended as the new Wimbledon champion.

When you look at someone like Sampras and Federer in Wimbledon, you know that they are destined to be great champions there. Everything about them is Wimbledon. Quality. Classic. Elegant. It was almost like a long decided arranged marriage, always meant to happen. But Ivanisevic’s was a love story of theatrical content. Before the final I was not thinking too much of Ivanisevic but by the third set in the final I was fully behind him and when he won even I had a bit of a tear in my eyes. I didn’t know why but I realized that it’s something special. His relentless pursuit to be a Wimbledon Champion showed why this is such a prestigious tournament.

One of the reasons that I love Wimbledon was the fact that it encourages Serve and Volley. In other grand slams, you don’t really notice the beauty of moving around the court like here in the lawns of SW19. And it broke my heart when such a wonderful expert of serve and volley like Pat Rafter never won at Wimbledon. It also explains why someone like Ivan Lendl, a wonderful player otherwise, also never won the championships. Lendl was a force from the baseline but never good at the net and that cost him two finals. It takes a great player to master the uneven and sometimes nasty bounce of the grass and no wonder Wimbledon Champions were regarded as greats. It’s what separates the men from the boys. Today tennis has changed to a more baseline play than approaching the net. The Australian Open produces slug fest every year with long matches but if you look closely, you will realize that fewer players approach the net to cut down the risk. But is that good tennis? I don’t think so. To me, it’s a horrible site to see men playing double handed backhand. I will go any day to watch Federer and Sampras play against each other and create masterful angles with their single handed backhands than a Djokovic – Nadal slug fest. Women’s tennis is even worse in this which explains why I like players like Navaratilova, Graff and Justine Henin-Hardenne. It’s a pity that Henin never won at Wimbledon despite that beautiful backhand which prompted John McEnroe to comment that it was on par with the men’s.

Now, as Federer masterfully captured a record equaling 7^th Wimbledon gentleman’s Singles Championship and Serena Williams her 5^th, we take stock of what’s in store for the future of tennis. Sure the future of tennis looks good with the likes of Djokovic, Nadal and Murray. Women’s tennis, though has become a mostly two set contests, still manage to produce good players and beautiful players to keep it going.

But are these players capable of being the great if not the greatest? When Boris retired Sampras rose and Federer took over after that ‘passing the torch’ 4^th round match in 2001. But invariably we knew that it was passed from one great player to another. Now who is there to claim it from Federer? Is men’s tennis going to become like the women’s where a new world no 1 emerges every few weeks just because there are no great players left? Are we going to be satisfied with baseline slug fest experts winning Wimbledon when there are no artistic masters left? Who is going to use the tennis racquet as a paint brush? Whoever does will make this great game even greater! Even Roger Federer would not want history to remember him as the last great player of the game. But until then, enjoy that awe inspiring tennis that the legend produces for you may see too few and too far once he retires.

Fed ‘Ace’ wins Wimbledon

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4 hours and 15 mins for a final with over 70 aces and most number of games played for a Wimbledon final. These were a few facts that sum up this year’s men’s final at SW19. But the real story was hidden. Let’s face it. Even a modest tennis fan would admit that Roger Federer did not play at the peak of his powers. Yet he managed to win his record breaking 15^th grand slam final.

One must admit that Andy Roddick played out of his skin. I was really amazed to see Andy play volleys this way. Previously he had a booming serve & inconsistent game. But his improved first serve percentage and much better volleys will no doubt shoot him up the table. Wimbledon 2009 was his 2^nd chance and will come a long way in erasing his reputation as a one slam wonder.

Over 70 aces for a championship final show how much of a power game it was. There weren’t many long volleys unlike a Federer vs. Nadal final. The quality of winners, however, was good.

On the flip side, Roddick wasn’t moving around the court so much and Federer had trouble in returning Roddick’s bullet serves.

The speed on Federer’s first serve was equal to Roddick’s second serve. Still Federer managed at least 15 aces more than Roddick. That’s an amazing quality but overall the Swiss master just did not bring his A Game. That he broke Andy’s serve only once in the entire match shows not just Andy’s rise as well as Fedy’s decline. With this kind of below par performance, Rafa would have steamrolled Fed Ex.

With the great Pete Sampras watching from the royal box, one would think Roger Federer would weave his magic around the center court. He had his moments, but this was just not his show.

Still 15 grand slams is no mean achievement. That he did it with a few good years left will argue well for him, for he wasn’t a burden for fans to see him complete it. As I see it, I honestly think it will take quite a long time to break his record.