What a Match….what drama!
July 7, 2008
It was as intense as the battle between Achilles and Hector must have been and it was as dramatic as that one except that I am talking of a tennis match!! Yes the match between Roger Federer (SUI) (five time Wimbledon Champ ) and Rafael Nadal (ESP) ( the no. 1 contender), and what a match it was!
I mean the same Federer who had won all the five previous Wimbledon titles without any real threat ( except that of the last year which was against Nadal only), was struggling and was 2 sets to love down when the rains came lashing for the first time.
It must have been a welcome relief for Federer who was staring down the barrel at that time, and so it proved to be when he came back and won the next two sets at the tie break causing a dramatic comeback and instilling into the crowd of thousands and all the viewers a thrill which was quite unknown in the court of tennis!
The final set was goin head to head too, with each of the players winning their respective serves but unable to break those of the rivals. Finally after they were tied at 7-7 in the final set that Nadal finally broke Federer’s serve to make it 8-7 and suddenly he was serving for the match. The match again became dramatic when this set yielded a deuce. But a smashing fore-hand of Nadal gave him the advantage while yet another unenforced error by Federer gave the Spaniard the crown.
It was a moment of great emotion for Nadal as well as for Federer and both couldn’t hold back their tears, though one of them was shedding tears of joy the other was lamenting the loss!
But the victory only wasn’t the most attractive thing their. It was sheer perseverance of both the players and their undaunted will which made the match unforgettable. Even after 4 hrs and 48 minutes of play both the players were showing no signs of fatigue be it physical or mental and this added to the charisma of the game too! It was as one of the commentators said
“something way beyong an ordinary tennis match, it ’s a real something else!“
Click here to watch the highlights of the longest and arguably the greatest men’s singles final ever played!
