For this entry I would like to take a look at the Wimbledon final between Andy Roddick and Roger Federer. It was a spectacular event to watch but I’m going to mostly focus on the effort put forth by Roddick and what it exactly meant. I think we found out a lot about Roddick from this match.
First let’s take a look at the rivalry, or what was supposed to be a rivalry, between Andy and Roger. Going into that final last Sunday, Federer had an 18-2 record against Roddick. Three of those victories were in Grand Slam finals, two at Wimbledon and one at the U.S. Open. This matchup was supposed to be the next great rivalry. Instead it became a huge one sided affair with probably the low point coming in 2007 during the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. Federer simply was outstanding. Many people believe that it was the best match he had ever played. Luckily for Roddick, he was able to win his first and only Grand Slam before Federer really got going.
As fate would have it, Roddick was to play Federer in the finals of Wimbledon for a third time. In 2004 when the two met in the finals for the first time Roddick won the first set and seemed poised to take down Federer until a rain delay which clearly favored Roger. Then, in 2005 they met once more in the Wimbledon final but Federer easily won in straight sets. This time was supposed to be no different. Many “experts” thought Federer would win easily in straight sets. After all he was only one victory away from making history by winning his 15th Grand Slam title.
Well, the so called “experts” could not have been more wrong. What happened on Sunday will go down as one of the best matches ever played. It is even surprising that the best player that day didn’t even win and no, Federer didn’t lose. Roddick was simply amazing. It had been well documented that after last year’s second round exit at Wimbledon, Roddick did some soul searching so to speak and revamped his game. But nobody, and myself included, would have ever thought he would be so much improved at this point in his career. Nobody, other than himself, thought he would stand a chance against Federer. Maybe he would win a set but never be a real threat to Federer.
Now I’m going to actually talk about what went down on Sunday. Roddick and Federer were on serve in the 1st set with Roddick leading 6-5. Roddick was somehow able to break Federer and win the 1st set 7-5. I’m sure a lot of people had flashbacks of 2004 when Roddick won the 1st set and looked well on his way to his first ever Wimbledon title. Would this be any different or would the great Federer show why he is perhaps the best tennis player to ever play?
The 2nd set was when things started to get interesting. Both players were on top of their game and held serve to force a tiebreaker. Roddick seemed to be set to win the 2nd set when he was up 6-2 and serving for the set. But then, everything fell apart for him. Federer decided to show why he had won 5 of the last 6 Wimbledon finals. Federer ended up winning the 2nd set tiebreaker 8-6. I bet you could not have found one person that thought this match wasn’t over. Roddick was supposed to lay down and let Federer win his 15th title.
The 3rd set was about the same as the 2nd. The surprising thing was how well Roddick was still playing even after the 2nd set implosion. Again, the 3rd set went into a tiebreaker and Federer won again. He was now one set away from history.
However, Roddick would not go away. He was able to break Federer’s serve for the second time in the match early in the 4th set. He was able to hold his serve and win the 4th set 6-3. This was not supposed to be happening. He was not supposed to push Federer to limit at Wimbledon. He was not even supposed to be there. But the one thing that might have surprised people was that he wasn’t even supposed to be playing as well or even better than Federer. This was a total shock to the tennis world.
Now comes the 5th set. It was truly amazing to watch. Federer was to serve first which gave him an upper hand in the match. As long as he kept serve he would never have to worry about possibly losing the match on his serve. Keep in mind, that Federer had not broken Roddick’s serve all match. It was hard to believe that Roddick could possible lose this match with his serve only being broken once. The pressure started to mount when it became 6-6 in the deciding set. Now one little mistake could cost either of them a chance at the most prestigious title in tennis. Roddick seemed to catch a break at 8-8 when he had two break points. Federer easily erased those with his suddenly big serve that he had all match. Federer would go on to serve 50 aces throughout the match which is easily his career high. No real threat ever appeared until the score was 15-14 with Roddick serving. Federer was finally able to get championship point and did not waist it. Roddick had a miss hit that went long and Federer was now the champion again.
Here are some stats from the match:
Federer had 50 aces, 107 winners, and only 38 unforced errors
Roddick had 27 aces, 74 winners, and 33 unforced errors.
The final set lasted 95 minutes which is as long as some matches take to play.
The match required 77 games which is a Wimbledon record.
The match lasted 4 hours and 16 minutes which is only about 30 minutes shorter than the finals last year.
Now for the analyzing part, to me Andy Roddick might not go down as one of the best tennis players of all time but he might go down as one of the best competitors of his time. The heart and determination he showed on Sunday was truly something to behold. His mental game can only be compared to that of Nadal’s. For the first time ever, Roddick’s name was mentioned in the same breath as Federer’s but for a good thing. Roddick showed he has what it takes to be a champion. Sure he did not win but he was the better player that day. He had it all. He was matching hit for hit, point for point, serve for serve, with the best player of all time. He had Federer on the ropes and let go of the grip ever so slightly. It was just enough for a player of Federer’s caliber to take advantage of it. We can learn a lot from a man when he is backed into a corner and we learned a lot about Andy. As he said, “There are two options: You lay down or you keep going.” The entire tennis world thanks Roddick for choosing the second option. It provided one of the best matches ever played. I think we got a taste of how much people really appreciated his effort when the fans at Wimbledon starting chanting his name after the loss. When has that ever happened before? Roddick might not win another Grand Slam title but when he loses it is because a lack of skill, not because of a lack of effort. These next couple of months will say what kind of man Roddick really is. Will he continue to strive to get better or will finishing second to the greatest player this sport has ever seen be enough for him? Only time will tell. Roddick finally has put hope into American tennis. Maybe we there will be a new image to come from America. We will not lie down but yet we will fight no matter the circumstances.
Here is a great quote to finish this entry:
“In great attempt it is glorious even to fail” – Cassius Longinus
