I’m relatively new to the game of tennis. Kate and I have only been playing seriously for about seven years. I always enjoyed watching McEnroe’s antics and Agassi’s flair on TV, but I never truly considered playing the sport seriously. In fact, I used to call tennis a recreational activity. That definition, or terminology, was my way of deflecting the fact that I wasn’t very good. This was easily apparent to anyone who saw me play. I served underhand, I feebly swatted at forehands and I switched the racket from my right hand to left hand to avoid any attempt at hitting a backhand. It was called the “Wilson switch” and hardly ever worked. My best move, however, was attempting to jump over the net on changeovers. Let’s just say that the results weren’t always graceful.
Even though my grandfather had played the game to help defeat an early bout of cancer and won his fair share of tennis tournaments in his time, I wasn’t going to dedicate my time to getting better. Why would I? Basketball was my game. And I had things going for me. After all, I was already the bench captain of my JV basketball team. I made an improbable half court shot that used every part of the backboard and rim versus Sallies that helped my team to only lose by 12 points instead of 15. D-I colleges were dying to get a not so slender 5’-7” point guard with zero ball handling skills, suspect shooting and nerves that would rival my greyhound Chandler in a thunderstorm. For whatever reason and despite the fact that I was in AP Calculus, I just couldn’t do the math to realize that I had no future in basketball. As coach Fulmer said in Varsity Blues, “you must be the dumbest smart kid I know.”
I credit my relationship with my wife for my newfound passion and enthusiasm for tennis, among other things. Tennis is something that we can play together. We’ve certainly improved by leaps and bounds since we first started playing together during our college courtship. We’ve also made a point to watch the 4 slams every year to watch the world’s elite compete on the grandest stages and to learn a few things. Kate always says that she can tell when I’ve been watching the pros because I try to emulate them, especially on my serves. There were plenty of lessons on display in yesterday’s Wimbledon finale. The All England Tennis Club served as the ultimate tennis classroom as Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer effectively took the world to school.
Nadal, fresh off his 4th straight French Open title, entered Wimbledon oozing with confidence as he was trying to become the first man since Bjorn Borg to win both titles in the same year. The Spaniard was well positioned to do just that as he thoroughly trounced the competition in the earlier rounds, including Scotsman Andy Murray in the semis.
Federer, on the other hand, entered the Championships having suffered tough losses to Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open and to Nadal in the French final. With the questions about his reign at the top of the sport growing ever more prevalent, Federer was looking to prove that his best is not behind him. He proved that he still has game when he smoked Marat Safin in the semis winning an amazing 61 out of the 71 points on his serve. Considering Roger's five straight Wimbledon titles and a winning streak over 40 matches on the famed grass court, this has clearly been his tournament.
It’s extremely difficult for me to pick a favorite when these two match up head to head. They are classy and humble men who have immeasurable respect for the game and each other. On Sunday morning I was favoring Roger Federer to win the Wimbledon title for the sixth year in a row. This was not an easy choice because they are both extremely likable.
Some players on the tour simply don’t appeal to me. The world number three Novak Djokavic, I find to be annoying and overly arrogant. His incessant ball bouncing before his serves is a stall tactic that is completely unnecessary at this level of play. If Sergio Garcia can cut back his pre golf stroke routine, then you can bounce the ball less than 25 times. Former number one Leyton Hewitt is like school on Sunday, no class. Shouting “come on” when your opponent hits an unforced error into the net does not make you a favorite among your peers and the fans. Nikolay Davydenko, a.k.a. The Machine, seems to be just like his nickname, unemotional and stiff. To top it off his name is mired in allegations of a gambling conspiracy for possibly throwing matches. While nothing has been confirmed on that front, he has been penalized on multiple occasions for not giving his best effort. (By the way, I love that the chair umpire can hand out code violations for not trying. I wish that rule would be applied to other sports.)
If you’ve read some of my previous rants, you may think that I’m a crotchety curmudgeon that hates everyone. That's not entirely true. There are players on the tour not named Federer and Nadal that I do like. I’m a huge James Blake fan. I love his passion for the game and his overall aggressive style play. Plus, his signature shot, the forehand is a devastating weapon. I try to model my forehand off of his, but obviously my results aren't nearly as effective. I read his book "Breaking Back" and I really felt like he opened himself up in those pages. Blake wrote in depth about overcoming his career threatening injury, dealing with his father's bout with cancer and his lifelong struggle with controlling his emotions on and off the court. He stressed the importance of quickly getting over a missed shot or an unforced error and not letting it linger into the following points. So far in his career, unfortunately, that has proved to be easier said than done.
I also root for the other notable Americans on the tour, just not as much as Blake. Andy Roddick tends to rely on his big serve too much. Although he's improving, I think that parting with his coach and tennis legend Jimmy Connors was a bad career move. Maybe it's just me, but I think that he may be into the celebrity that comes with being a top tennis player rather than actually trying to be the best tennis player he can be. A player like Robby Ginepri is someone that may have less talent than Andy, but he has the edge on him in the terms of hard work and effort. I have to mention Donald Young too. Here's a kid who was dubbed the chosen one at the age of 16 when he won the Junior Australian Open in 2005. His career has somewhat stalled since then, but he has cracked the top 100.
Ultimately, what separates the skill sets of Federer and Nadal from other pros isn't Roger's silky smooth technically sound forehand or Rafa's brute strength and massive topspin, it's their combination of physical and mental toughness. Lasting a staggering 4 hours and 48 minutes Sunday’s match was the longest singles final in the history of Wimbledon. I've played video games for over 5 hours before and I could barely see straight, I can only imagine what it would be like to exhaust your entire body for that amount of time and not just your thumbs. The Wimbledon final was truly a test of endurance. If they were tired, it sure wasn't noticeable as the level of skill that they demonstrated on Centre Court never once dipped below phenomenal. The points were long and the rallies plentiful. The winners were even more amazing, the players combined for 149 winners (Nadal 89, Federer 60) and only 79 unforced errors (Nadal 27, Federer 52). They both dialed in huge and accurate serves when they needed them at the most crucial moments.
Rafa and Roger’s superior physical ability was on display as they made every point look like a graceful Bolshoi ballet. Even more astounding than their athleticism was their mental acumen. After Nadal took the first two sets 6-4, 6-4 it looked like he might run away with this final like he did in Paris. The reigning champ, however, refused to go quietly into that deep dark night. Thanks in part to a rain delay, Roger was able to gather himself and focus on the points ahead rather than dwell on previous lost points. He raged back to force a third set tiebreak. In that breaker he unleashed ace after ace to take the set 7-5 and extend the match.
True to form, the fourth set went to a tiebreaker too. This one was even more dramatic than the previous. Rafa got a mini break to start the breaker then increased that edge to a 5-2 lead with the ball on his racket. The Spaniard had two championship points but failed to convert on each one. Somehow, Roger fended off every heavy ball Rafa threw at him and he stormed back to take the breaker 10-8. This epic duel would have to be settled in a fifth and final set. Each player held serve in the fifth set and since there is no breaker in the last set, play would continue until one man won two games in a row. With another rain delay and ever diminishing sunlight it looked like the match would have to be postponed until the next morning. But then Rafa broke Roger’s serve to take the lead 8-7 and would serve for the match. That was all the opening he needed. The defending champion valiantly tried to find the ball in the dark but ended the match hitting an error into the net.
In the end, it was Rafa who fell to the grass as the Champion, 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-7 (8), 9-7. The primary factor behind his victory was his capacity to consistently boost his game when his back was against the wall. The tell tale stat to support this claim is the break-point conversions. Federer had 13 chances to break Nadal’s serve and only converted one time. Nadal had the same number of opportunities and was successful on four occasions.
The only level of competitive tennis I’ve ever played is the Wilson Marital Open. From that experience I know how significant each shot is when you’re faced with a break point. Every ball carries more weight. Muscle memory takes a back seat to over thinking the subtleties of every stroke. Bend the knees, start the backswing, eye the ball through impact, follow through, don’t miss it, D’oh! Once the idea of failure enters your mind, you are doomed to fall short.
During the biggest of points on the grandest of stages, the smallest amount of doubt never entered Rafa’s head. He was up two sets to zero. He blew two championship points in that 4th set breaker. If Nadal was any normal human he would have been reliving the previous losses he suffered to Federer at Wimbledon. Rafa, however, is anything but normal so it didn’t even faze him. He just wiped the sweat from his head and arms and moved forward. Overcoming the pressure of the moment and maintaining a positive attitude is epitome of mental toughness.
The Agassi v Sampras matchup was great, but I wasn’t as involved in tennis back then. I’ve only had the chance to see grainy McEnroe v Borg highlights and I have to say that the game looks a lot slower to me. Granted, they were playing with wooden rackets and uncomfortably short shorts. To me, the Federer v Nadal rivalry is the best I’ve ever witnessed, maybe that’s just because I’m living in this generation and the memory of the match is fresh in my mind. But everytime they meet it’s must see TV. Not only is it worth getting up early on a Sunday and committing the entire day to watching these two men play tennis, but I would gladly watch any of their matches over and over thanks to DVR and ESPN Classic.
From a talent perspective, Nadal has closed the gap between the two players. He has displayed remarkable improvement in his play on all surfaces. He remains the king of clay and I don’t foresee anyone dethroning him at Roland Garros anytime soon. Rafa’s put in the work to add a one handed slice to his backhand to complement his underrated two handed shot from the right wing. He’s increased the pace of his serve from the high 90’s to almost 130 mph. Even more incredible is that his accuracy has actually gotten better at the same time. His first service percentage is close to 70%. More variety has been added to his forehand. Not only does he hit the heavy topspin (a study by the International Tennis Federation determined that a Nadal groundstroke rotates between 4,000 to 5,000 times compared to the average of 2,500 rotations), he’s also been flattening out his groundstrokes and the results have been a skidding, deeper ball.
Other than the clam diggers that Rafa wears, there’s nothing that I don’t love about his game. What’s not to love? He’s a scrappy defender, a powerful attacker and an all around down to earth guy. I gush about him and his sculpted arms so much that Kate thinks I have a man crush on him. Maybe I do, so what. I just think he would like to hang out with me. On Sunday morning, I started out in the Federer corner. By Sunday evening, I had converted to the other side. Don’t worry Roger, I still think you’re the greatest player of all time. But consider this fact: at the age of 22, Rafa now has five grand slam titles. When you were that age, you only had one. Looks like we have another “Wilson switch” in the making.
Even though my grandfather had played the game to help defeat an early bout of cancer and won his fair share of tennis tournaments in his time, I wasn’t going to dedicate my time to getting better. Why would I? Basketball was my game. And I had things going for me. After all, I was already the bench captain of my JV basketball team. I made an improbable half court shot that used every part of the backboard and rim versus Sallies that helped my team to only lose by 12 points instead of 15. D-I colleges were dying to get a not so slender 5’-7” point guard with zero ball handling skills, suspect shooting and nerves that would rival my greyhound Chandler in a thunderstorm. For whatever reason and despite the fact that I was in AP Calculus, I just couldn’t do the math to realize that I had no future in basketball. As coach Fulmer said in Varsity Blues, “you must be the dumbest smart kid I know.”
I credit my relationship with my wife for my newfound passion and enthusiasm for tennis, among other things. Tennis is something that we can play together. We’ve certainly improved by leaps and bounds since we first started playing together during our college courtship. We’ve also made a point to watch the 4 slams every year to watch the world’s elite compete on the grandest stages and to learn a few things. Kate always says that she can tell when I’ve been watching the pros because I try to emulate them, especially on my serves. There were plenty of lessons on display in yesterday’s Wimbledon finale. The All England Tennis Club served as the ultimate tennis classroom as Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer effectively took the world to school.
Nadal, fresh off his 4th straight French Open title, entered Wimbledon oozing with confidence as he was trying to become the first man since Bjorn Borg to win both titles in the same year. The Spaniard was well positioned to do just that as he thoroughly trounced the competition in the earlier rounds, including Scotsman Andy Murray in the semis.
Federer, on the other hand, entered the Championships having suffered tough losses to Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open and to Nadal in the French final. With the questions about his reign at the top of the sport growing ever more prevalent, Federer was looking to prove that his best is not behind him. He proved that he still has game when he smoked Marat Safin in the semis winning an amazing 61 out of the 71 points on his serve. Considering Roger's five straight Wimbledon titles and a winning streak over 40 matches on the famed grass court, this has clearly been his tournament.
It’s extremely difficult for me to pick a favorite when these two match up head to head. They are classy and humble men who have immeasurable respect for the game and each other. On Sunday morning I was favoring Roger Federer to win the Wimbledon title for the sixth year in a row. This was not an easy choice because they are both extremely likable.
Some players on the tour simply don’t appeal to me. The world number three Novak Djokavic, I find to be annoying and overly arrogant. His incessant ball bouncing before his serves is a stall tactic that is completely unnecessary at this level of play. If Sergio Garcia can cut back his pre golf stroke routine, then you can bounce the ball less than 25 times. Former number one Leyton Hewitt is like school on Sunday, no class. Shouting “come on” when your opponent hits an unforced error into the net does not make you a favorite among your peers and the fans. Nikolay Davydenko, a.k.a. The Machine, seems to be just like his nickname, unemotional and stiff. To top it off his name is mired in allegations of a gambling conspiracy for possibly throwing matches. While nothing has been confirmed on that front, he has been penalized on multiple occasions for not giving his best effort. (By the way, I love that the chair umpire can hand out code violations for not trying. I wish that rule would be applied to other sports.)
If you’ve read some of my previous rants, you may think that I’m a crotchety curmudgeon that hates everyone. That's not entirely true. There are players on the tour not named Federer and Nadal that I do like. I’m a huge James Blake fan. I love his passion for the game and his overall aggressive style play. Plus, his signature shot, the forehand is a devastating weapon. I try to model my forehand off of his, but obviously my results aren't nearly as effective. I read his book "Breaking Back" and I really felt like he opened himself up in those pages. Blake wrote in depth about overcoming his career threatening injury, dealing with his father's bout with cancer and his lifelong struggle with controlling his emotions on and off the court. He stressed the importance of quickly getting over a missed shot or an unforced error and not letting it linger into the following points. So far in his career, unfortunately, that has proved to be easier said than done.
I also root for the other notable Americans on the tour, just not as much as Blake. Andy Roddick tends to rely on his big serve too much. Although he's improving, I think that parting with his coach and tennis legend Jimmy Connors was a bad career move. Maybe it's just me, but I think that he may be into the celebrity that comes with being a top tennis player rather than actually trying to be the best tennis player he can be. A player like Robby Ginepri is someone that may have less talent than Andy, but he has the edge on him in the terms of hard work and effort. I have to mention Donald Young too. Here's a kid who was dubbed the chosen one at the age of 16 when he won the Junior Australian Open in 2005. His career has somewhat stalled since then, but he has cracked the top 100.
Ultimately, what separates the skill sets of Federer and Nadal from other pros isn't Roger's silky smooth technically sound forehand or Rafa's brute strength and massive topspin, it's their combination of physical and mental toughness. Lasting a staggering 4 hours and 48 minutes Sunday’s match was the longest singles final in the history of Wimbledon. I've played video games for over 5 hours before and I could barely see straight, I can only imagine what it would be like to exhaust your entire body for that amount of time and not just your thumbs. The Wimbledon final was truly a test of endurance. If they were tired, it sure wasn't noticeable as the level of skill that they demonstrated on Centre Court never once dipped below phenomenal. The points were long and the rallies plentiful. The winners were even more amazing, the players combined for 149 winners (Nadal 89, Federer 60) and only 79 unforced errors (Nadal 27, Federer 52). They both dialed in huge and accurate serves when they needed them at the most crucial moments.
Rafa and Roger’s superior physical ability was on display as they made every point look like a graceful Bolshoi ballet. Even more astounding than their athleticism was their mental acumen. After Nadal took the first two sets 6-4, 6-4 it looked like he might run away with this final like he did in Paris. The reigning champ, however, refused to go quietly into that deep dark night. Thanks in part to a rain delay, Roger was able to gather himself and focus on the points ahead rather than dwell on previous lost points. He raged back to force a third set tiebreak. In that breaker he unleashed ace after ace to take the set 7-5 and extend the match.
True to form, the fourth set went to a tiebreaker too. This one was even more dramatic than the previous. Rafa got a mini break to start the breaker then increased that edge to a 5-2 lead with the ball on his racket. The Spaniard had two championship points but failed to convert on each one. Somehow, Roger fended off every heavy ball Rafa threw at him and he stormed back to take the breaker 10-8. This epic duel would have to be settled in a fifth and final set. Each player held serve in the fifth set and since there is no breaker in the last set, play would continue until one man won two games in a row. With another rain delay and ever diminishing sunlight it looked like the match would have to be postponed until the next morning. But then Rafa broke Roger’s serve to take the lead 8-7 and would serve for the match. That was all the opening he needed. The defending champion valiantly tried to find the ball in the dark but ended the match hitting an error into the net.
In the end, it was Rafa who fell to the grass as the Champion, 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-7 (8), 9-7. The primary factor behind his victory was his capacity to consistently boost his game when his back was against the wall. The tell tale stat to support this claim is the break-point conversions. Federer had 13 chances to break Nadal’s serve and only converted one time. Nadal had the same number of opportunities and was successful on four occasions.
The only level of competitive tennis I’ve ever played is the Wilson Marital Open. From that experience I know how significant each shot is when you’re faced with a break point. Every ball carries more weight. Muscle memory takes a back seat to over thinking the subtleties of every stroke. Bend the knees, start the backswing, eye the ball through impact, follow through, don’t miss it, D’oh! Once the idea of failure enters your mind, you are doomed to fall short.
During the biggest of points on the grandest of stages, the smallest amount of doubt never entered Rafa’s head. He was up two sets to zero. He blew two championship points in that 4th set breaker. If Nadal was any normal human he would have been reliving the previous losses he suffered to Federer at Wimbledon. Rafa, however, is anything but normal so it didn’t even faze him. He just wiped the sweat from his head and arms and moved forward. Overcoming the pressure of the moment and maintaining a positive attitude is epitome of mental toughness.
The Agassi v Sampras matchup was great, but I wasn’t as involved in tennis back then. I’ve only had the chance to see grainy McEnroe v Borg highlights and I have to say that the game looks a lot slower to me. Granted, they were playing with wooden rackets and uncomfortably short shorts. To me, the Federer v Nadal rivalry is the best I’ve ever witnessed, maybe that’s just because I’m living in this generation and the memory of the match is fresh in my mind. But everytime they meet it’s must see TV. Not only is it worth getting up early on a Sunday and committing the entire day to watching these two men play tennis, but I would gladly watch any of their matches over and over thanks to DVR and ESPN Classic.
From a talent perspective, Nadal has closed the gap between the two players. He has displayed remarkable improvement in his play on all surfaces. He remains the king of clay and I don’t foresee anyone dethroning him at Roland Garros anytime soon. Rafa’s put in the work to add a one handed slice to his backhand to complement his underrated two handed shot from the right wing. He’s increased the pace of his serve from the high 90’s to almost 130 mph. Even more incredible is that his accuracy has actually gotten better at the same time. His first service percentage is close to 70%. More variety has been added to his forehand. Not only does he hit the heavy topspin (a study by the International Tennis Federation determined that a Nadal groundstroke rotates between 4,000 to 5,000 times compared to the average of 2,500 rotations), he’s also been flattening out his groundstrokes and the results have been a skidding, deeper ball.
Other than the clam diggers that Rafa wears, there’s nothing that I don’t love about his game. What’s not to love? He’s a scrappy defender, a powerful attacker and an all around down to earth guy. I gush about him and his sculpted arms so much that Kate thinks I have a man crush on him. Maybe I do, so what. I just think he would like to hang out with me. On Sunday morning, I started out in the Federer corner. By Sunday evening, I had converted to the other side. Don’t worry Roger, I still think you’re the greatest player of all time. But consider this fact: at the age of 22, Rafa now has five grand slam titles. When you were that age, you only had one. Looks like we have another “Wilson switch” in the making.
