|
It does seem like old times as Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal invited us to a petit bouche before the French Open
Well so much for being aggressive. The score was Nadal up a set and an early break, but he gave it right back for 2-2. Then Roger tried being aggressive on his service game and came into net. Nadal passed him at every turn. Another break of serve. That's what this match was about - one man got ahead, only to surrender the lead back. After breaking for 4-3, Rafa got down love 40 on his serve, erased two breakpoints, but missed a forehand well long and the second set was even again at 4 apiece.
It hasn't been a barnburner, nothing like the Wimbledon final in 2008. But then we're just grateful for a final from them, aren't we? Especially since those supposed young lions in waiting, Djokovic and Murray, have had dismal results of late and were both long gone by the time Madrid rolled into its Sunday finish. Kind of leaves a girl feeling like maybe we've seen the best they have to offer? We shall see.
The Tower of Tandil, Juan Martin Del Potro, is doing a good imitation of the Leaning Tower of Pisa - he just had wrist surgery and his absence will continue for at least another three months. How hard is it going to be for the big guy to get his place back at the table? No wonder he's reportedly depressed.
Soderling, the Number Four seed, went out here early, and Andy Roddick developed the flu and withdrew. Every year at this time Roddick basically blows off the clay court season. Thank goodness John Isner and Sam Querrey showed up to lay claim to the fact that yes, on occasion, SOME of our guys can even play on the red stuff, with Isner getting a good distance (the third round) before losing to Nadal.
It was fortunate that guys like Almagro (beating Soderling, Monaco and Melzer on his way) and Ferrer(offing Baghdatis, Cilic and Murray) stepped it up and provided us with a lot of fire and music this week. Gulbis again had a good showing, losing to Federer in three sets in the quarterfinals. His match-up with Federer has been a good one, this past week showed them together for the second time in a match. Gulbis plays Roger well; he has nearly as much variety as the Swiss star. The broad smile that Federer showed shaking hands with his opponent after the match indicates to me that he enjoys his new rivalry too.
Roger held serve for 5-4, and Rafa rose to the challenge, tying the set on his serve at 5-5. Roger served and followed it in, but dumped the volley. He's dumped a goodly number of volleys today, and the serving had not been as sharp as what he showed getting here. It's been a tough match to watch because it seesaws all over the place. Like a car that doesn't run smoothly down the road, but hiccups and stutters its way along.
Still, this is a final that rewards us in a number of ways. Firstly, it sent a wake-up call to Roger after his lousy play in recent weeks on clay. He definitely tightened his game up this week in Madrid. One thing also I enjoyed seeing him do is step around the forehand repeatedly. He wants that forehand shot and now he is taking more patience to get there with it. His serving game righted itself this week too, although as I said earlier it was not as sharp today as it has been earlier in the week.
For Rafa, the benefits are that his health and his knees seem fine. He is moving well and hitting with his usual high consistency.
The back and forth continued into the second set tiebreak that saw mini-breaks traded. The Federer serve was again just slightly off, he missed a few key first serves, and the backhand let him down again. A fluke ball kicked up on championship point, Federer swung and missed. It was that kind of match.
Frankly, even though we got the final we had all hoped for, we had already seen better matches this week. I thought Almagro really announced himself: he played with a passion and intensity - and finally a consistency - that has eluded him before. He really socked it to Nadal in the first set of their semi-final. I don't know if Federer really had expectations he could win this final today. I was happy just to see him redress the imbalance that has occurred of late. He is getting enough matches under his belt. Today Federer looked about two-thirds full speed, Nadal looked better, but even he has a ways to go if he hopes to recapture the French.
Both guys seemed a bit nervous, I thought - like a pair of lovers reunited after time apart and trying to find their way across the room to each other. There were more than a few scratchy bits in among the good shotmaking, but did that really matter to us fans starved to see again the weightiest match-up perhaps ever in men's tennis?
Pardon me if, like little Oliver, I pull on my bib and beg the tennis headmaster for more.
The score from Madrid was Nadal, 6-4, 7-6(4).
|
Bloguin is the revolutionary blog network specifically focused on helping bloggers get the most out of their websites. We're currently working on building a large network of online communities and hope to expand our blogging coverage to include a wide range of topics. 
The Bloguin Network allows advertisers to promote their products and services to our ever-growing number of visitors. We offer both site-specific ad placements as well as the ability to run a network-wide campaign. If you're interested in working with Bloguin to meet your advertising needs, please contact us.
The Bloguin Network is always looking to expand. We're specifically looking for blogs in the sports, entertainment, and video games field, but are open to adding any type of quality site. If you're a blogger and interested in joining our network, please fill out our application form.
The Bloguin Login gives you full access to everything our network has to offer. Your name and password will work for each and every one of our sites. Signing up is simple, and will allow you to post in all our forums, create member blogs, and access other cool features! What are you waiting for? Create an Account! 