Over the weekend we had the birthday of our nation (getting to hear cannons fire in addition to fireworks is awesome by the way), Kobayashi got arrested, the World Cup was cut down to 4, All-star snubs were announced, and some basketball player named LeBron finished getting courted by various NBA teams.
Perhaps lost in this milieu of sports and life celebrations was Rafael Nadal winning his 8th Grand Slam at the age of 24. Once again we were denied a Federer-Nadal slam match-up. It is possible we will not see it again. Federer, who is approaching 30, lost in the quarterfinals this year to eventual runner up Tomas Berdych. After the match R-Fed spoke of lingering back and leg injuries. Some saw that as making excuses, but I think what we saw from Federer was a combination of frustration and truth about his physical condition. While Federer and Nadal have met 8 times in Grand Slam tournaments, it is unlikely we will ever see them both performing at their top games. I have a feeling Federer knows this.
This week Roger dropped to 3rd in the world rankings behind Njokavic and Nadal. Soon Rafael will go after the final title in his Career Grand Slam, the US Open. Federer got his Career Slam when Nadal bowed out of the French in 2009 with knee injuries. It appears as of now that Nadal will not have to go through Federer to do it. Last year when Nadal was forced to the sidelines with injuries many wondered if he was going too hard too fast. Catfish made the apt comparison of Nadal being the 'Dwayne Wade of tennis'. Like Wade, Nadal has battled back from those injuries.
America seems to be preoccupied on other things since the Americans are not the center of this rivalry. In the 80s there was McEnroe and Connors, the 90s had Sampras and Agassi. With the World Cup this summer, our country seems like it can only handle one sport more popular in other countries at the moment. If Nadal is able to capture the US Open, he will have 9 titles, the career slam and be only 24. The case might be then that everyone forgets about Roger.
photo via Getty
Monday, July 5
They Forgot About Rafa
Monday, July 6
Coming Full Circle on ASD, Wimbledon-style
Tomorrow will mark the one-year anniversary of the Amphibious Sports Duo and perhaps it is fitting that the first post on our blog was about the epic 5 set match last year in the Wimbledon final between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. I labeled it the "Marathon Match" because the contest went 9-7 into the final set. The final yesterday between Roger and Andy Roddick ended 16-14 in the 5th set. While many did not get the "best match ever" feel yesterday, you could not deny that this was the longest and the biggest test of endurance. There was no rain delay, no fading light, just two men slamming serve after serve at one another.
I will simply say the following about the historical implications. Roger Federer is the greatest by the numbers as Pete Sampras, who was on hand with wife Veronica Vaughn, Bridgett Wilson, put it better than anyone could when asked by John McEnroe who held the title of best ever. It was great to see players from each era standing together; Bjorn Borg, Rod Laver, Sampras, and Roger. There was mutual respect between them all and there seemed to be an understanding that being the best in your era marked your place in history and that any discussion over who is the best ever is a compelling argument, but not one that has a definite answer.
I have been guilty of criticizing Roddick in the past, and also guilty of deferring to his swimsuit model wife and millions of dollars as comfort for him. But as the match progressed and after Andy fell short, I actually felt bad for him. I am not talking in the grand scheme of things, but simply in the sense of a sports' competitor. Andy deserves all the credit in the world for retooling his game and improving on his weaknesses. He stood toe-to-toe with Roger with his groundstrokes yesterday which is something he had not done in his previous Grand Slam losses to Federer. Even Roger had to be surprised by the level of Roddick's play and it is another tribute to Roger took everything Andy had and still came out on top. Roddick had Roger 15-40 in the 5th set but Roger powered serve after serve to get out of the jam. It reminded me of when Sampras used to do that all the time. After that game Roger never let Roddick get close and by the 30th game, Andy could simply not stay at the level he had been playing. Of course Andy will re-live his bad miss on a backhand volley when he had set-point 6-2 in the second set tiebreaker, but he did bounce back from that to force the 5th set which is another credit to his improvement. I do not see how he recovers from this loss anytime soon, but I hope he attacks the game with the vigor and game planning with which he approached his last two matches.
One thing that has remained constant for Roddick is his entertaining interviews before and after matches. On court, fighting back tears, holding his second place trophy like it was a crumpled paper plate he just used to gobble down BBQ, Andy paid respect to Roger and looked over at the royal box and said, "Sorry, Pete, I tried to hold him off." He turned down the clubhouse interview with McEnroe which I think was wise considering the hug he gave a sullen Federer after last year's final. In the press conference, Andy was slumped over, but answered all the questions truthfully and with his usual wit and snark. "I lost," he said. It was that simple.
Monday, June 29
Weekend Recap
Well, let us just say that the trip to Ohio did not disappoint. There was not even that many Buckeye fans around, perhaps because we were closer to Pennsylvania than Columbus, but whatever the case K-man is now a happily married man and Catfish and I are safely back in North Carolina. While recounting the details of the weekend would possibly incriminate all those involved and since some people who read this blog know me personally, I sadly cannot divulge all that occurred. I will however give a rundown of what I learned over the weekend though.
-Youngstown, Ohio is apparently the marriage capital of the Midwestern United States. There were weddings everywhere and when I informed people I was here for a wedding they all told me what to expect and looked upon me as if I was an simple tourist in some kind of marriage destination.
-Catfish throws a strong right hand and somebody got on a plane yesterday with evidence of that on their face.
-If you have upwards of 200 people at your wedding but less than 4% of those attendees are single ladies, that is wrong.
-Despite popular belief, I am not in favor of chasing after cankles.
-There are few words better in the human language than "open bar".
-Lighting is a very important component in owning/operating a strip club.
-Four guys in the back of a compact Mazda is not a good idea, but can be done with the proper body angles.
Each one of these revelations has an interesting story behind it but I will leave it to your imagination. Catfish and I stopped by the Pro Football Hall of Fame like we planned yesterday. It was a good experience and I'm glad we decided to go. While we were gone some crazy stuff went down.
Billy Mays is gone? Wait this stuff is only supposed to happen in 3's. [Tampa Bay Online]
The U.S. Soccer team came oh so close to pulling off the huge upset while we drove through the hills of West Virginia. Even though they came close and lost, the story is not all bad. [Soccer Haus]
The Yanks swept the Mets at Citi Field, Rivera picks up his 500th save and Jerry Manuel is sending out an SOS. 3 of your 4 best hitters, a starting pitcher, and you're setup man on the DL will do that to you. [New York Post via TBL]
Roger Federer continues to roll at Wimbledon. It appears only Andy Murray can stop him now. [SI.com]
The Mountain West is not letting their dream of a playoff in FBS college football die. [Salt Lake Tribune via CGB]
Traveling in Ohio this weekend meant we got a taste of Cleveland sports radio, the talk was all about Shaq and the Cavs. [Cleveland Plain Dealer]
Monday, June 22
Weekend Recap
No need to recap the U.S. Open. It's not over yet. This morning Ricky Barnes will attempt to hold off the other players charging toward him including Tiger and Phil. [Update: He didn't, but the guy he was playing with did.]
You can follow the coverage live on your computer though thanks to the genius of the internets. [NBC Sports]
Former QB at the U and Miami-area steakhouse owner Bernie Kosar has filed for bankruptcy. He blames the economy, others his foolish spreadthrift ways. All I'm wondering is why the hell his ex-wife Babette deserves $3 million. [Miami Herald]
The U.S. Soccer team pulled one completely out of their backside by advancing to the semifinals of the Confederations Cup. [Rumors and Rants]
The Wimbledon preview this year begins and ends with Roger Federer. It is extremely dissapointing that Nadal had to withdraw because of injury which really only leaves two compelling stories on the men's side: Federer going for the record 15th Grand Slam title and Andy Murray becoming the latest hope for the Brits. [SI.com]
Hope everyone enjoyed their Father's Day, unless you hate your father or can't stand your kids. [HHR]
Warren Sapp says the youngins don't listen to the old folk nowadays. Insert lawn joke here. [PFT]
Sabathia hurts his bicep as the Yanks fall to the Marlins 6-5. The Fish took the series from the Yanks at Landshark Stadium. It was like 2003 all over again. [Sporting News]
Jason Campbell speaks with dolphins. We have to get him and Darren Dalton together. [DC Sports Bog]
Monday, July 7
The Marathon Match
Rafael Nadal, the 22 year old Spaniard had been dueling with Roger Federer for years now. The two had been waged in an interesting battle where Nadal's lone achievement was the red clay of Roland-Garros. Nadal has never lost a match there in his four years and the past three denied Federer his chance at a career grand slam. The French Open was the one blemish on the record of Pete Sampras, who won 14 grand slam titles, more than any other male in tennis history. Federer, who once seemed destined and may very well eclipse that mark, does not want to share that distinction with Sampras. His friendship and commercial appearances with Tiger Woods put Federer into the category of transcendent worldwide athlete. If Roger wants to be recognized as in the same neighborhood as Tiger, he will have to claim the French Open at least once. Yet for the past three years Nadal had been the obstacle Federer could not overcome. This year, a month before their clash at Wimbledon, Nadal dispatched Federer in straight sets.
While Nadal was being hailed as the greatest clay court player of his generation, and perhaps ever, he wanted more. Failures to capture the other Grand Slam events would continue to label Nadal as strictly a clay court success. The lawn of Wimbledon was Federer's domain. Five straight titles, not to mention 65 consecutive wins on grass, were held by Federer who had a sub-par year (by his standards) coming into this year. Roger rolled through his opponents on his way to the final, not even yielding a set. Nadal, who fell to Federer last year, also failed to drop a set in his run.
It was a great scene from the beginning and Nadal won the first two sets before I could barely rub the sleep out of my eyes from the 9 a.m. start. Nadal looked supremely confident, and it was Federer, the master of grass (not insinuating anything there) that was the flustered one. He was slamming balls back across the court after points, glaring at the referee, and yelling to himself. His body language was like I had never seen from him, even at the French. He seemed to be thinking the same as many people were, "How can this happen to me on grass?" Whether it be called divine intervention, a twist of fate, or typical London weather the skies darkened and opened up with Federer leading 5-4 in the third. There was no possible way to turn it into a positive for Nadal. Coming out from the rain delay, the two held serve into a tiebreaker. Federer's record in tiebreakers far exceeded Nadal's and it showed. Federer served his way through the tiebreaker to claim it 7-5. The fourth set was the most entertaining. It led again to another tiebreaker but this time Nadal seized the advantage. Rafael held a 5-2 lead only to see Federer dig deep and tie it up which also could have been nerves by Nadal. At 6-6 Nadal rifled a forehand winner past Federer to gain Championship point. Incredibly Federer shot an backhand return winner past Nadal on the next point. Roger fended off another championship point and eventually took the set on a service winner at 10-8.
At this point Nadal had to be struggling mentally. Being ahead is one thing, but having a chance to close it out twice is another. The weather would simply not cooperate and another rain delay would occur at 2-2 in the final set. When the players returned they both seemed energized. This led to incredible shots by both men game after game. There would be no tie break for Federer in this set, one man would have to break the other, which was a fitting phrase was a fitting one as both men were refusing to yield ground. The match timer passed four and half hours, and the real time eclipsed 9 in the evening. With daylight fading and again clouds looming, the possibility of an extension to Monday seemed likely. But it would be Nadal who broke through, taking Federer's serve at 8-7 and then serving for the match. The resilient Federer fought off another match point to bring it to deuce, but slung a forehand approach shot into the net to give Nadal the victory. Nadal hit the ground and screamed in ecstacy, a complete role reversal from the previous years as it was the favorite pose of Federer laying on the lawn at the All-England Club in his five victories.
The trophy ceremony was held as the darkness fell over the court, but the light of the cameras and the clubhouse, kept enough light for both players to take a lap. The interviews were great from both men, who, not speaking English as a first language, did their best to find words to describe what had just occurred. Added to that was the emotion of the moment, which almost overtook Federer in his clubhouse interview with McEnroe. Nadal was class all the way but the real moment he showed his humility was when he called Federer the "greatest of all time".
This win, momentous on its own accord, could be the beginning of a new era of tennis rivalry. Many feel Nadal turned the corner and will now be a constant threat to Federer. However many contend that Federer will return only stronger in the coming months. The bottom line is that tennis needs both to be true. Tennis is an individual sport, it requires either strong personalities, or opposing greatness to be successful. Nadal and Federer can become this set of titans, as long as they play as they did Sunday, on all surfaces, for years to come.
