Long live the Rivalry! All Hail Fed vs Nad

The score was 8-7 in the fourth set tie-breaker and Nadal was serving to take the Wimbledon gentlemen singles championship for the first time in his career. At this moment only one amazing moment came back to my mind. The 4th set in the 1980 marathon five setter between the great Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe. McEnroe took Borg to a tie-breaker and in a similar situation fought off Championship points that Borg had and forced a fifth set. I wondered if Federer was looking to do the same and take it to a fifth and final set against the unrelenting Nadal. And it did happen, with Federer playing some mind-blowing tennis to win the next three points and push the final into a fifth set.

What a comeback the spectators were witnessing. They had already earned their money's worth when they saw both the players play out-of-the-world tennis in the first three sets in which Federer showed his determination to come back from being two sets down (4-6 4-6) to take the third one in a tie-breaker 7-6(7-5). And now with every additional point being played, each person sitting in the stands of Centre-court at the All England Lawn Tennis Club was sure that they would witness one of the greatest comebacks in a Wimbledon final and also that they would probably witness the best ever Wimbledon final in the modern era. Federer, according to me, played the best tennis he has played in the year 2008.

He proved why he is the champion that he is by repeatedly saving break-points and closing the door for Nadal each time. How he did this is a different story altogether. He served those impeccable aces when he needed them most- the most significant being the four that he served in the third set tie-breaker itself- and also played some sensational ground strokes to keep Nadal in check. From the point when Federer forced a fifth set, there was only one thought running through my mind and that was - Is Federer going to win the match and set a new record of six straight Wimbledon titles to beat Borg's record of five and do it in an Epic battle like the 1980 finalhe won against McEnroe?? Well, the answer was a disappointing NO. I sat through the whole match which lasted nearly 4h 40' and when Nadal served out to take the final set 9-7 I realised that there was never going to be another better Wimbledon final for a long time.

Federer may have lost to Nadal after staging the greatest comeback, but according to me he has announced his return to form with a classic display of his skills. I believe he is better equipped to face the Hard court encounters that will soon resume as we build up to the last Grand Slam event of the year at Flushing Meadows in New York City. Nadal on the other hand has shown to the whole world that he is the one player who can keep improving with every single point that he plays and at a young age of just 23, he has a lot of tennis left in him. I believe he will remain the undefeated man on clay for the next three years at the least and will easily surpass the record that Borg holds at Roland Garros with six titles against his name.

I am soon heading for Syracuse University situated in Syracuse City, situated about five hours from NY City. I was planning to save up money to visit the Flushing Meadows next year to witness the great Roger Federer play in the final at the Arthur Ashe stadium at a minimum cost of 80$(thats a lot, but to see such tennis be played I consider it dirt cheap :) ). But having seen the quality of tennis that these two greats have brought out of each other I am thinking about reconsidering my decision and making a trip this year itself to the Championships to witness another staggering display of tennis. Will I get tickets after going there is a big question but if I do and provided that my parents agree, I will be the first person into the stadium on the day it will happen. For all you know maybe noe of them may not even make it to the finals with a player like Novak Djokovic around, but if either of these two players plays even half as well as they did against him then they will easily breeze past him. Such is the quality of these two greats.

I had earlier written about a great rivalry between these two players that has grown and grown over the last few years(The Great Rivalry that is... dated June 8th) and while I was writing that piece of text, I deliberately shied away from comparing this rivalry to the Borg-McEnroe and Sampras-Agassi ones. But now I am proud to say that this rivalry has reached the same standards, if not bettered them in terms of the sheer brilliance of the tennis, the emotion in the games, the extent to which each player pushes his own physique and also the magnificent tennis that each player is able to force out of the other.

Long live the rivalry and may these two entertain each and every soul that comes to watch them play(Well I want to be one of them... :):) And I am hoping to soon be one too!) and bestow upon them the best quality of tennis they can deliver.