Wimbledon 2009: Federer won but Roddick didn't lose

Last night, Federer created history by overtaking Sampras as the all time winner of 15 Grand Slam titles. In doing so, he set another record by appearing in his seventh consecutive Wimbledon final but spare a thought for the man who stood in his way and threatened to spoil the party, Andy Roddick.
Roddick came to this final a record of 18 loses and only 2 wins against Federer. This was hardly encouraging however, armed with a new strategy that attempted to stifle the free flowing Federer and a fitter body, Roddick unleased a barrage of serves that kept him toe to toe with the FedEx. Infact throughout the match, it was Roddick who on several occasions threatened to seize control and run away with the match, however Federer being the great Champion that he is used all his experience to finally overcome Roddick in the longest fifth set in the annals of the competition. Well Done Federer (for the win and for also regaining the number one ranking) but also Well played Roddick!!

French Open 2009: The FedEx is a Champion..AGAIN!!

Federrer finally got what he wanted.A complete Slam!True, he didn't have to overcome the challenge of having to face his greatest nemesis, Rafa over the net in the finals, yet there was no question about his form and ability. After a scratchy beginning to the tournament during which he dropped two sets against Tommy Haas and nearly went to the brink, Federrer regained control and played down the nerves to take the Championship in three sets against Robin Soderling. The final was a bit of an anti-climax with Federrer completely dominating the match but for a Federrer fan like me, it was a sweet win.Well Done Federrer!!

Australian Open 2009: Rafa aces the FedEx yet again

Incredible! This one word sums up Rafa's game in the Australian Open 2009 final. As Jim Courier put it "How is this guy even on his feet?". But on his feet he was and for more than 18 hours 54 minutes of playing time which included close to 10 hours in the last 48 hours of the Open.
Incredible athleticism combined with a die-hard must win attitude cracked Federer's normally impassive veneer to make him visibly nervous and suddenly the 14th major for the FedEx looked further away. Federer's first serve percentage kept dropping and the double faults crept up to hurt him at crucial junctures and when he hit one long after saving three championship points, he handed the Australian Open to Rafa.
While Rafa has been gracious enough to acknowledge Federer as the 'greatest ever', it now appears as if it will be Rafa who now has a realistic chance of completing a Grand Slam in 2009. Also, Rafa has now beaten Federer in their last five encounters. If Federer wants to confirm his place as the 'greatest ever' in history, he will have to break this wall down or stand by and witness Rafa's elevation to that epithet.

Wimbledon 2008: Rafa dethrones the King

Last night / early this morning, I witnessed one of the greatest tennis matches between probably who will be, the greatest champions of the modern day tennis era. Rafa beat the FedEx to win his First Wimbledon and in the process derailed Federer's quest for a sixth straight crown.

It was a high voltage match that see-sawed as the champions fought it out, interrupted by rain and hampered by bad-light. In the end, only Rafa stood tall. The FedEx express had been derailed but what a fightback it was for the five time Wimbledon champ after being 2 sets down, he came back to be within two points of another sensational victory when leading 5-4 in the fifth set but Rafa had the nerves to hold him back. Talking about nerves, the FedEx was the ice-man when he hit a backhand winner with Rafa on matchpoint.

Truly, this was one of the most brilliant exhibitions of tennis and while the Federer's 65 match winning streak on grass may have been broken, in his words "Don't write me off". He will be back stronger, faster and more hungry. In fact I feel that he may finally win Rolland Garros next year and stop Rafa from making it a 5P.

Wimbledon 2008: FedEx thumps Hewitt

Federer started week 2 at Wimbledon 2008 with a thumping straight sets win against Leyton Hewitt who didn't really play all that bad.Federrer just outplayed him and even though his game wasn't 100% on target, it was enough to earn him a well deserved straight sets victory.

Going by the draw, it appears as if we may be treated to another Rafa vs Federrer final. Two finals in two months between these two and the world of tennis can't get any better.Although the last Grand Slam final between these two (at Rolland Garros this year) was a bit of an anti-climax with the FedEx being steamrolled by Rafa so much so that Rafa apologised to Fedex for his own 'brilliance' and praised Roger's attitude on court during the match.

It would be interesting to see if Roger could put it across Rafa and repeat last year's performance on his favorite hunting ground, Wimbledon given the powerful, fluent tennis that Rafa has been playing lately.

The FedEx gets one over Rafa, but only just...

Wimbledon 2007: The FedEx equaled Bjorn's record of five championships at the All England Club by overwhelming the challenger in Rafa but only just.Rafa made the FedEx run for every point. The FedEx had to bring out his best tennis before he could get pass..It was a good match up and for a change, the rankings (No 1 and 2) appeared befitting to the two players.

I guess, we can look forward to some interesting duels in the future.

Sometimes you have to lose, to find what it takes to win

The scoreline 6-4,6-1 doesn't really say it but I just saw one of the toughest fights by an under dog.Marion Bartoli won the crowd over at Wimbledon but could not win the championship. It was not the lack of effort that killed her chances but the lack of chances that the experience of Venus Williams fed her with. Marion fought hard, taking serves at 200 kmph well inside the base-line but there wasn't much she could give that Venus had not seen.

But all said and done, I feel that this defeat will make Marion a better player. She took out world number 1 and world number 3 on her way to the finals and lost to a player who had won the championships 3 times before. There is no shame in this loss , after all sometimes you have to lose to find what it needs to win.

In the men's, Rafa is playing the FedEx again and Wimbledon is not a clay surface.Can Rafa stop the FedEx from equaling Bjorn Borg's five championship titles? Maybe..

Wimbledon 2007 :The FedEx steamrolls Safin

Just a few weeks ago, I saw The FedEx being blown away by Rafa at Rolland Garros. The scripts were reversed and the FedEx looked completely in control as he blew away Safin in straight sets. The temperamental Safin, apart from breaking his racket had little to offer to test the FedEx. So the only guy, who in my opinion that could have stopped the FedEx got steam rolled.Hmmm.. Does this mean, another championship is in sight for the FedEx?? I think so.

Rafa blows FedEx away

Well, the bilboards predicted it, the commentators forecasted it but you couldn't help hoping for more of a fight. Rafa blew the FedEx away in four sets to claim a 3P. Simply amazing....