Greatness Squared
It was a pretty good day for a pair of friends today.
I had no doubt in my mind before today, but the argument has been made even more compelling – Roger Federer is unquestionably the greatest male tennis player of all time. If you didn’t see the match today then you really missed out. Andy Roddick, to his tremendous credit, played about as well as he could possibly have played. He was aggressive, accurate, and focused – three things that don’t always come in one package for the talented American. No matter what he did, though, Federer was there to match him. Roddick got close to a breakthrough a couple of times in the final marathon set, but whenever he pushed the Swiss star to the brink, Federer would fight his way out. Federer is so ridiculously creative – it’s almost as if he invents shots for particular situations, and as if he adapts his entire game to suit the needs of a particular situation. He wasn’t having an easy time handling Roddick’s blistering serve on Sunday, so he ratcheted his own serve up and, incredibly, almost doubled the number of aces Roddick had. It was a truly epic battle between two warriors, but you couldn’t shake the feeling from he very start that n matter what Roddick tried it wouldn’t quite be enough. Unbelievable.
While Federer was tearing up London, his buddy Tiger Woods was winning his own tournament in Washington. Tiger showed us all who he is yet again. He went into the final round in the last pairing, and he won by being just plainbetter than everyone else. He was intensely focused, and he clearly wanted it more than everyone else. I still can’t figure out why he can’t seem to do that every week anymore like he used to be able to, but it is truly a joy to watch him when he does find his zone. I hope that this win has a better lasting legacy than the last two have – he has won his last tournament before each of the last two majors, and has been underwhelming in the big events both times. With the British Open up next I hope he doesn’t follow the same pattern – though probably not nearly as much as he does.
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Tags: Roger Federer, Tiger Woods
