This post was published to faris at 11:55:21 PM 7/5/2009
On and on they held serve as the fifth set of the Wimbledon men’s final endured beyond all precedent. On and on, with shadows encroaching on the grass, Andy Roddick kept pace with Roger Federer on Centre Court as Federer attempted to close in on a record 15th Grand Slam singles title.
But as cruel as the concept began to seem as both players continued to invest in the outcome, Wimbledon’s latest epic had to finish. And as poignant as it should seem to those who know how long Roddick has been chasing sunlight in Federer’s shadow, Federer was the one who again ended up holding the trophy.
Roddick, in the midst of a resurgent season, had hoped to postpone Federer’s record-making, but despite playing what looked very much like the match of his life, Roddick could succeed only in turning Sunday’s final into Wimbledon’s latest classic as Federer won by the remarkable score of 5-7, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5), 3-6, 16-14.
Roddick held his serve 37 times in a row before being broken in the last game. When Roddick’s last shot, a forehand, missed its target, Federer roared and walked to the net all alone in the record books after breaking his tie with Pete Sampras, who is now second on the career men’s list with 14 major singles titles.
“Sorry, Pete; I tried to hold him off,” Roddick said to Sampras, his American compatriot, who was sitting in the front row of the royal box after flying in from Los Angeles on Sunday morning.
Federer, who claimed a first French Open title last month, has now won Wimbledon six times, the US Open five times, the Australian Open three times and Roland Garros once.
Sampras was the last man to set a new mark in Grand Slams when he beat Pat Rafter in an emotional final at Wimbledon in 2000, and the American chose to return to the All England Club to witness Federer's achievement
The 37-year-old arrived to applause during the changeover after the third game and, with his wife, took his seat alongside Manuel Santana, Rod Laver, Bjorn Borg and Ilie Nastase.
With so many tennis greats on hand, Roddick appeared to be very much the support act as Federer attempted to make history, but the American has been a rejuvenated force this year and played one of his best ever matches in beating British hope Andy Murray in the semi-finals.
He went into the final having won just two of his previous 18 matches against Federer, but with the confidence of having arguably the world's best serve and a new variety to his game brought out by coach Larry Stefanki.
Both men started strongly on serve but it was the Swiss who put the pressure on first, forcing four break points in a tense game at 5-5.
GRAND SLAM TITLES
15 - Roger Federer
14 - Pete Sampras
12 - Roy Emerson
11 - Rod Laver
11 - Bjorn Borg
10 - Bill Tilden
8 - Ken Rosewall
8 - Ivan Lendl
8 - Andre Agassi
8 - Jimmy Connors
8 - Fred Perry
Federer was twice denied by Hawkeye, while Roddick saved two break points with trademark heavy serves, and the five-time champion was quickly made to regret the missed chances.
Moments later he was under pressure as he leaked a forehand into the tramlines to give Roddick a set point from seemingly nowhere, and when the Swiss made the same mistake in the following rally the American's supporters were on their feet applauding as their man took a shock lead.
The second set followed the same pattern, with neither player able to fashion a break point and Roddick now making 80% of his first serves.
It came down to a tie-break and, knowing his title hopes were under serious threat, Federer made a nervous forehand error to hand over the mini-break before the Roddick serve took over, sweeping the American to 6-2 and four set points.
An imperious Federer backhand and two service winners cut the deficit before Roddick had a chance on his own serve, but he put a high backhand volley well wide.
Federer fired a cross-court backhand pass to win a fifth straight point and earn a set point for himself, and Roddick pushed a backhand well over the baseline to bring Federer level at one-set all.
It was a body blow for the American and he headed straight to the locker room on the changeover before marching to the wrong end on his return to Centre Court.
Roddick's head cleared sufficiently for him to get a foothold in the third set and he saved a break point in game five with a serve.
The 26-year-old could win only two points on the Federer serve throughout the set but he forced another tie-break, and a chance to amend for the disaster of the second set.
A backhand approach into the net gave Federer the mini-break though and, although Roddick did well to close the gap to 6-5, the Swiss converted his third set point with a thumping forehand
If anyone thought that the smooth coronation of Federer was now back on track, Roddick had other ideas, playing a magnificent volley at 2-1 to earn two break points and taking the second with a backhand pass that Federer could not handle.
Roddick served out valiantly from 0-30 in game nine, thrilling the Centre Court crowd who were about to enjoy a fifth set that few had expected to see.
Federer had the first chance at a break in the decider but again Roddick served his way out of trouble, and the Swiss had still not broken his opponent after nearly three hours.
Both men appeared to be getting stronger and stronger and they were well and truly in the groove on serve, with Federer ahead in the ace count as the fifth set rolled on.
Roddick made his move at 8-8, firing a spectacular backhand winner down the line for 15-40, but five-time champion Federer responded magnificently with a service winner and a nerveless drive-volley.
The fifth set Sunday was by far the longest in a Grand Slam singles final in terms of games played, which is quite a statistic considering that Wimbledon began in 1877. The previous longest was in 1927, when René Lacoste of France beat Bill Tilden of the United States, 11-9, in the fifth set at the French championships.
But this year’s final certainly deserves a place on the shortlist of great Wimbledon matches.
The set became the longest in a men's singles final when Federer fired three aces in a row to move ahead 13-12, and Roddick began to look the more tired - but he refused to yield until the 30th game of the set.
The American looped a forehand long at deuce, and when he did the same on championship point Federer had his first service break of the day - and a historic victory after four hours and 17 minutes that takes him to the top of the Grand Slam list.
But there was some small consolation. The Centre Court crowd, accustomed to seeing Federer with the trophy, was in no mood to forget the man who finished second. The chants of “Ro-ger” were followed by chants of “Rodd-ick.”
Legends are legends, and performance is performance and from what we have witnessed here today was the highlight of how great the game has reached and yet I think we will have to hold on to our judegement regarding which is the best final we have seen recently because at the end of last year, it was last years final at Wimbledon, but after seeing today’s match, it will be this year for many. But, for me, I reserve my judgement after I see next years final. SO congratulations Roger Federer and commensurations Andy Roddick. I think we got to see the best tennis of the year and if Andy continues to play like this, he is surely in a league of champions who would have a say where the title would go at this years US Open.
No comments:
Post a Comment