I did not think I would ever see a tennis match as good as the Wimbledon Final of 1980, which matched the stoic Swede Bjorn Borg against the brash and temperamental New Yorker John McEnroe. I remain too jealously protective of the sports legends of my youth to say it was better, but honesty forces me to acknowledge that last Sunday's Wimbledon final between the Swiss Roger Federer and the Spaniard Rafael Nadal was at least its equal.
I played competitive tennis about a hundred years ago, and still hold fond memories of my old wooden Jack Kramer Pro-Staff with its brown diamonds on the white neck. I wasn't anything special, but played enough to understand and appreciate what is required to play the game. As I watched these two play I slowly entered a state of disbelief. The shots that they hit were simply that - unbelievable. The speed, strength, reflexes, timing, and conditioning of these two players left me speechless. The spectacular became commonplace in this match, as both players routinely executed shot after seemingly un-makeable shot. John McEnroe, who provided outstanding color commentary for NBC and was the Number One player in the world in the 1980's, marvelled as well. Agape with admiration, he openly fumbled for words to convey to the audience the sheer brilliance that was on display. My nine year old son added in understated simplicity, "Man - they are playing HARD".
In addition to their physical prowess, the match was nothing short of epic in its setting, its theater, and its execution. Like Yankee Stadium, Churchill Downs, and Augusta National, Center Court at the All England Club is one of the hallowed cathedrals of sport. Federer entered the tournament as one of only two men to ever win five consecutive Wimbledons, Bjorn Borg being the other. But just a short month ago, Roger the Great had not only been beaten, but dominated by Nadal on the clay courts of the French Open, and pundits of the game were openly speaking of a "passing of the torch". In the match itself, Federer was down two sets to love in his bid to win an unprecedented sixth consecutive Wimbledon singles title. But he clawed his way back from the precipice not once, but twice, as he won the third set in a tie-breaker, and battled back from the seemingly insurmountable defecit of 2-5 in the fourth set tie-breaker. Fittingly, the fifth set also required extra games, and the longest Men's Final in Wimbledon history ended with Nadal prevailing 9-7 in set five, bringing to an end Federer's pursuit of the sport's Holy Grail.
It was the stuff of legend - almost mythological. And as he did Hector and Achilles, Homer would have been proud to immortalize these two combatants with his pen.
That's because even more than their incredible talent and athleticism, one is drawn to the character of these two men. In today's world of sport, dominated by preeners and strutters and spewers of trash-talk, these two combatants are soft-spoken gentlemen, their respect for each other and for their sport as obvious as it is enormous.
To say "it's a shame anyone had to lose" is to speak a cliche. But phrases become cliches because they are true.
And this one was never more true than last Sunday in London.
