Roger Federer

There was a chorus of gilded accolades from ‘all time greats’ as Roger Federer won his fourth consecutive Wimbledon singles title. In the fortnight en route to the final, in the most challenging section of the draw, Federer left in his wake a humiliating trail of crushing defeats.

All straight set victories garnished by ‘two-love’ sets with only one close 7-6 against Mahut in the third round, were a true measure of his genius.

On grass courts, against human endeavour at its peak, such results have the fragrance of divinity. One wondered if he could maintain such a level close to perfection in the final against Nadal.

The dream final against Nadal was the ultimate test and the tennis world waited with bated breath. Federer had to move out of the shadow of four depressing consecutive losses to Nadal or else his dream of being the greatest ever would be shattered.

For Nadal, riding on a wave of 60 consecutive victories on clay courts, victory in this match would have put him on the summit with a chance of usurping Federer’s crown.

There has been no final in the last 60 years where the stakes have been so high. In contrast to Federer’s unchallenged route to the final, Nadal’s was tough and well contested. In the second round he was down two-sets-to-love to qualifier Robert Kendrick from the US, but fought back to win in five. As Nadal came through his grinding matches, his camp intelligently tuned his game for grass court play.

He served harder and flatter and went for aces. He reduced the top-spin on his forehand while going for winners and moved closer to the baseline for ground stroke rallies.

In the final, Nadal’s resolve and determination showed no signs of decline after Federer served an amazing 93 per cent first serves in court and broke Nadal’s service three consecutive times.

The next two sets were the most exciting of the Championships, as Federer struggled to stay in control. The defending champion won the second set tie-breaker, but still Nadal would not give up and came back to win the third set in a tie-breaker.

The Centre Court held its breath, was there going to be another Nadal comeback? But Nadal had given too much and Federer wrapped up the match in a tame finish 6-3.

The Nadal-Federer rivalry will enrich the tennis world, but I doubt if Federer can ever beat Nadal on clay courts.

The standard of men’s tennis is at its highest ever and though Nadal and Federer are a class apart, there are quite a few youngsters who could catch up with them in coming years.

At Wimbledon this year, both in the men’s and ladies’ events, students of the game must have noticed a new tactic; the frequent use of the drop shot which had become a forgotten ploy.

The reason for this is that the Wimbledon courts are much harder owing to more sun and less rain. Hence the ball bounces higher and the players stand a few steps further back from the baseline than earlier. Also, most of them are over 6-ft tall and run very well side-to-side but do not move forward as fast.

Federer’s style of play is a well-placed angled serve in the 120 mph zone, earning a weak half court response, which he allows to bounce and then puts away with a flatish forehand winner. The serve and volley is used strategically and more as a surprise variant or as a pressure tactic on important points.

The ladies fashion world was subdued with the announcement in the ‘Wimbledon Guide’ that “any competitor who appears on court dressed in a manner which is deemed unsuitable by the committee, will be defaulted.”

Wearing low-cut tops exposing a bit of cleavage and billowing short skirts revealing the underwear was too risky, and none of the ladies took a chance.

I loved the new uniforms for the linesmen and umpires designed by Ralph Lauren; it added to the traditional grandeur of Wimbledon. The uniform, reminiscent of the 1920s & 30s, was described by one writer as ‘straight out of Neol Coward’s cupboard’.

Paes, still ticking away, was in the semi-finals of the men’s doubles and quarter finals of the mixed doubles. He still is a force to be reckoned with and with luck and a good partner could well collect another Grand Slam title.

But our Davis Cup juniors are still buried deep in the small print of the qualifying rounds of Wimbledon.

Sanam Singh, seeded 8th in the boys’ singles, lost in third round. He seems to be our lone hope and one hopes he will get proper and adequate support and manage to break through into the top 100.

Rupesh Roy did well in boys’ doubles where he reached the semi-finals with H. H. Lee from Taipei.