Posted on 07/05/2009 5:23:13 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
The now greatest player ever was bruised, but he wasn't beaten yet.
After sustaining a barrage of aces, groundstroke winners and crisp volleys, Roger Federer faced two break points at 8-8 in the fifth set against American Andy Roddick, who was surely playing the Grand Slam match of his life in Sunday's Wimbledon final.
But Federer did not want to walk away from the final like he did last year, his face splattered with tears after a wrenching 9-7 loss in the fifth set to Rafael Nadal. So this time, he responded, cracking a wicked service winner, launching another service bullet and then taking Roddick's next return and ripping a swing volley winner.
He eventually held to 9-8 and then the clock began to tick loudly on the American's tired legs. He hadn't been broken in the match to that point and, even after blowing the second set tiebreaker, looked like the better and more consistent player on the day.
But that was Federer across the net from him, the same man who for good reason owned an 18-2 record against him coming into the match, who had beaten him at seven previous majors, including three times at Wimbledon.
The Swiss kept serving the daylight out of London and Roddick, and Roddick sensed that Federer was growing a bit more confident returning too.
"He was having trouble picking up my serve today for the first time ever," Roddick said. "He just stayed the course. You didn't even get a sense that he was even really frustrated by it. ... He gets a lot of credit for a lot of things, but not a lot of the time is how many matches he kind of digs deep and toughs out."
(Excerpt) Read more at msn.foxsports.com ...
Former three-time Wimbledon champion Boris Becker backed Sampras up: "Winning the French Open and in doing so collecting all four Grand Slam trophies, in my opinion, has made him the greatest player in history."
The 27-year-old still has a few more things to accomplish on the court — attempting to win his sixth straight U.S. Open title, winning Davis Cup for the first time, getting after Nadal again.
But on Sunday at the All England Club, he wanted to dispel a myth — that's he's too cool and collected and lacks inner fire. When asked what quality was key in his 15 major wins, he brought up one that isn't discussed very much.
Ted Green of LA TIMES SPORTS Summarizes Federer’s accomplishments and character thusly :
“... it’s interesting to note that Federer’s evenness, his calm, reserved Scandinavian temperament, is the same quality that makes him somehow boring for those fans who prefer their sports heroes wear their hearts on their sleeves.
But it is that same quality that will allow Federer, a month from his 28th birthday, which is certainly old in tennis, to continue competing at a high level for several more years. By contrast, Borg burned out from the pressure to win majors at just 26 and McEnroe, far too intense, was effectively spent around the same age.”
I like his style. Old school one handed backhand.
My vote goes to Rod Laver, who won two calendar-year Grand Slams in 1962 and 1969.
If I counted correctly, Roddick was broken one time in thirty five times he served that match, the last game of the fifth set. If Federer is to be hail as the greatest after being broken three or four times in the match, thne Roddick should be raised to #2 int he world immediately because he played a terrific match stretching Roger further than he has ever been stretch, emotionally. It was a great match to watch.
Federer is one of the greats of all time. Deciding who is the greatest is pointless. It all depends on competition of each player’s era. Other than Nadal, no one is really close to Federer right now. At the same time, one could argue Nadal is better than Federer right now. Federer is winning the French and now Wimbledon only when Nadal is injured. Not to take anything away from Federer’s excellence on the court. There is nothing not to love about his game and his conduct while at the top. He is a true champion.
Federer doesn’t seem to have a weakness...his gift is consistency...i’ve watched a lot of tennis through the years...he’s right at the top IMHO.
I watched as he said 'thanks you so much for coming so far...it means alot that you are here" (not a quote but close).
Real class IMO.
Sorry for the fast typing errors.
I haven’t kept up with tennis in a few years but agree Laver was maybe the greatest ever. If forced to choose I think I would go with Borg.
Bunk. Roddick should have removed his stupid on-backwards-cap and shown respect for Wimbledon, the fans, and the Royals present.........be classy, Andy!
I was talking about Federer. Roddick was defeated and gets a pass to some extent.
I think it is difficult or impossible to compare players across eras. The best you can say is someone was the “best of their era.” Equipment has changed dramatically, so has nutrition, conditioning and the surfaces used in tournaments. Jimmy Connors is the only player to win the US Open on all three surfaces, but I don’t think anyone would throw him into the mix. I’m partial to Laver, and he was the best of his era, but so is Federer...
hh
It took 11 posts but a turd was finally dropped.........
I’m witchoo. You have to compare them to others in their generation. Anything else is simply amusing speculation. Laver was great in his day, and Borg in his.
Agree. Each era has it’s greatest. Getting a GOAT (greatest of all time) is possible, but would be open to too much subjective ‘noise,’ bias and speculation.
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