I’m not really the sporty type of person, and I really wouldn’t be caught dead playing or doing anything that is even related to a sport. I guess, if anything, that explains the reason why I’m quite overweight.
I’m so inept that even if currently, I live in a country that lives, breathes and smells basketball, I still can’t tell a technical foul apart from an offensive one.
But, for some unknown reason, I am into tennis. I really am. I don’t play it, though, because I really think that I don’t have the chops to do it. But I’m enthralled whenever I see a tennis match on T.V. You know why?
Well, two words: Rafael Nadal.
He’s just way to hott for reality; a Spaniard born in Majorca one day in June (which means that every time he’s in the quarterfinals or the semifinals of the Rolland Garros, he’s celebrating his birthday). He’s only a year older than I am (he’s 21) and already he’s made eleven million dollars. My God. He’s the world’s number two for two years now, and he’s currently the only one who can rival Roger Federer, the world’s number one.
This rivalry between the two of them fueled my interest in tennis a couple of years back, because it’s just too interesting to watch and see them duke it out on court. Federer, being older and exponentially more experienced as he has been sitting in the number one slot for something like five years now, is a cool and unemotional shell who scores points with such deathly precision that it’s scary. Federer is Swiss, a lanky tennis player who scores points with his brain rather than muscle.
On the other hand, Nadal, being, technically, a young ‘un in the game, is all passion whenever he plays. The fist-pumping after a point can get tiring for some — and I’ve even heard others complain about how this whole fist-pumping affair is nothing but a show how egotistic he can be — but for me, it’s just a sliver of the feeling he gets whenever he plays. Also, he’s all muscle, which gave way to a stereotype about him not being a smart tennis player.
Oh, but he is.
Three years ago, he was criticized for not serving very well. Now, he can score aces just like that. Three years ago, he was criticized for not being able to play on grass (which was made all the more apparent because the Wimbledon quickly follows the French Open). For the past two Wimbledon’s he’s made it into the final round–against Federer himself.
If any of you saw the Wimbledon final last Sunday, you’d see that he is a very smart player on court. He’d have to be, because of the thirteen times he’s met Federer on court, he’s only lost five times (2 of which have been Wimbledon finals).
Simply put, it means that the world’s greatest tennis player has lost to Nadal more times than he’s lost to anyone else. My God. Can anybody see why I’m so interested in this rivalry?
Wimbledon. Ah, Wimbledon. My father claims that it’s like the gold-standard of all tennis matches. And during this year’s final game, I felt such ambivalence because I wanted the underdog to win. Problem was, I couldn’t figure out who the underdog was.
On one hand, I wanted Nadal to win, just because he’s Nadal. Also, logically, because he is the second seed, it must be that he’ s the underdog. Also, if he won this game, he’s the second man in history to win the French Open and the Wimbledon in the same year. So that’s always a plus, being written down in history.
On the other hand, though, I wanted Federer to win, because if he won this particular match, he would’ve equaled Bjon Borg’s 5-year stint in Wimbledon back in the 70’s. Also, because he is up against Nadal and not just any other player on tour, it can be said that he’s the underdog because he can’t win against this particular opponent — the one man who’s crushed his ego time after time, the one man who literally stands in his way to be declared as the greatest tennis player of all time.
It was one hell of a match; a true nail-biter if there ever was one. It was refreshing to see them play the way they did because the last time they met in the French Open final had been disappointing. They both played sloppily, for some unknown reason, and even then, Nadal steam-rolled Federer. I guess he was just vicious in defending his three-year run in Paris.
Personally I was kind of expecting the same thing for the Wimbledon, that they’d succumb to the pressure of the expectations of the crowd. But meeeh…in Niki’s words, that game was historical — a five-setter match that lasted for almost four hours “between the two gods of tennis”.
I can’t wait for the next season to start, because these two will meet again, and when that happens, I’ll be watching ^__^
Hooray Federer for winning his fifth Wimbledon title! Hooray for him who cried when it sank in that the shot he made gave him the trophy! Hopefully he does it again next year, so he could become the first man ever to win it six consecutive times. Hopefully Nadal doesn’t get anything serious from that right knee of his, so get your rest, Rafa! You’ll be wanted in the succeeding games.
