The Connoisseur of Contrarian Thought Indulges His Wildest Imaginations (But Is It All Imaginary....)
The Best Summary of the 2009 Wimbledon Men's final
Posted Jul 7, 2009 at 06:04 PM by NextLevel
From Steve Tignore at tennis.com
http://tennisworld.typepad.com/thewr...the-lucky-few/
____________________
Roddick had been beaten three straight times by Murray and 18 times by Federer, but he approached both of this weekend's matches as if they were contested on even terms. He had been written off at Slams for years, but he set about remaking himself with a new coach for at least the fourth time. The upshot is that he just played the two best matches of his life at age 26: He pushed Murray back without trying to blast through him and controlled the rallies against Federer off both sides.
He's been known in some parts as the American who couldn’t keep his country’s tradition of great tennis champions alive. A win over Federer yesterday would have banished that criticism forever. Instead Roddick played beautiful tennis for 4 hours on Sunday only to run up against a brick wall and end the day in tears, a lifelong dream and career vindication thwarted by his more gifted nemesis again. Then he was forced to describe how he felt to the world. Asked by Sue Barker if he felt the sport could be cruel, Roddick said to the crowd, who had supported him as they always do at Wimbledon, “No, I’m one of the lucky few who gets cheered for, so thank you for that.”
Roddick may not be a champion on the order of Sampras or McEnroe or Connors, but none of those guys could match the breadth of his personality, or his unpretentious humanity. His performance on Sunday, first in his actions and then in his astoundingly stoical, winning words before a worldwide audience, was inspiring. It really did make me proud to be an American. A+
________________________________________
No, I'm not American, so Roddick did not make me proud to be an American. What I liked was how after such a tough match which many who watched thought he should have won after having 4 points for a 2 set lead in the second set tiebreaker, that he could put his loss and his status in the game in proper perspective.
http://tennisworld.typepad.com/thewr...the-lucky-few/
____________________
Roddick had been beaten three straight times by Murray and 18 times by Federer, but he approached both of this weekend's matches as if they were contested on even terms. He had been written off at Slams for years, but he set about remaking himself with a new coach for at least the fourth time. The upshot is that he just played the two best matches of his life at age 26: He pushed Murray back without trying to blast through him and controlled the rallies against Federer off both sides.
He's been known in some parts as the American who couldn’t keep his country’s tradition of great tennis champions alive. A win over Federer yesterday would have banished that criticism forever. Instead Roddick played beautiful tennis for 4 hours on Sunday only to run up against a brick wall and end the day in tears, a lifelong dream and career vindication thwarted by his more gifted nemesis again. Then he was forced to describe how he felt to the world. Asked by Sue Barker if he felt the sport could be cruel, Roddick said to the crowd, who had supported him as they always do at Wimbledon, “No, I’m one of the lucky few who gets cheered for, so thank you for that.”
Roddick may not be a champion on the order of Sampras or McEnroe or Connors, but none of those guys could match the breadth of his personality, or his unpretentious humanity. His performance on Sunday, first in his actions and then in his astoundingly stoical, winning words before a worldwide audience, was inspiring. It really did make me proud to be an American. A+
________________________________________
No, I'm not American, so Roddick did not make me proud to be an American. What I liked was how after such a tough match which many who watched thought he should have won after having 4 points for a 2 set lead in the second set tiebreaker, that he could put his loss and his status in the game in proper perspective.
Total Comments 2
Comments
-
Roddick has always been a humble and down to earth personality, an attribute that has endeared him to tennis public. I guess that is why so many were routing for him to win apart from the fact that he did play his hearts out in both the semi and final stages.
I must admit that even though I was routing for Federer and glad that he won, I wouldn't have minded Roddick wining. I did feel sorry for his loss.Posted Jul 8, 2009 at 01:34 AM by valteena
- Valteena, it was the first game ever that I ever rooted against Federer from start to finish. Roddick didn't make me regret it and if they play again, I will probably root against Federer again. I don't think that losing 15 pounds when you are already a world class athlete should go unrewarded.Posted Jul 11, 2009 at 03:09 AM by NextLevel
