Unfortunately, there will be no post from Omar today. Heavily involved in final negotiations to re-sign the Sedin brothers to a long-term stint in Vancouver, Omar is barred from posting for legal reasons. We look forward to his remarks on the subject following the July 1st deadline.
So often we hear that Roger Federer is a wonderful ambassador for the sport of tennis, a wonderful role model. But, I ask you, besides being the best tennis player in the world, would you be happy if your son grew up to be like him? Here are some exhibits of his character, you can make up your own mind:
A Humble Winner?
Every time Federer wins a Grand Slam tournament, he falls to the ground crying as if he's been shot, as his opponent awaits him patiently at the net, watching the show. 
Gracious in Defeat?
Upon losing the 2009 Australian Open to Rafael Nadal, Federer cries as he watches the trophy being handed over to the champion. For a man who’s had so much success, you’d think he could allow someone else to enjoy his moment.
Modesty?
When Federer finally won his first French Open in 2009, this was his answer upon being asked how Nadal has made him a better player:
"I don’t know how much... but I think I have actually helped the other players more than they have helped me because I have put tennis in a different league."
So much for admitting one's shortcomings and acknowledging greatness in others. All I know is that my household will be a Federer free zone. I don't want my children growing up with a sobbing wreck of an idol.
Because of all the news Canadian Mike Weir made over the weekend at the U.S. Open, a fellow countryman’s story was overshadowed. Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, BC, is the number one ranked amateur golfer in the world, and he played in his first Major tournament this week.
At just 21 years old, very young and inexperienced for a golfer, most first timers are happy to just be playing in their first Major championship tournament, let alone attempting to make the cut. Taylor was able to do just that after two rounds based on an incredible second round score of 65. Put in perspective, Mike Weir tied a U.S. Open single round score record with his first round 64, and the best round Tiger Woods turned in was a 68.
In the end, Taylor finished at +8 for the championship, placing him in a tie for 36th – first out of the amateurs. Near him on the leaderboard were pre-tournament favourites, Jim Furyk and Camilo Villegas, at +7 and Vijay Singh at +6. Playing so well under the pressure of golf’s largest stage is an affirmation of Taylor’s number one ranking, and this young man will soon be making Canadians very proud.
If you have work today, skip it! But if that’s impossible, NBC.com has live streaming coverage for you to stay tuned, while your unsuspecting boss is none the wiser.
The U.S. Open is always golf’s toughest test, requiring mental toughness, physical strength, and this year, incredible adaptability. Due to an unbelievable amount of rain in New York, Thursday’s first round was almost completely pushed to Friday, and the players have been attempting to catch up ever since. Three full days of golf later, and the co-leaders, Lucas Glover and Ricky Barnes, are on the second hole of their fourth and final round, both at -7. If either of these two, who have absolutely no PGA Tour victories between them, can hold on to their emotions and win, good for them. But there are a few players directly below them on the leaderboard who have been there before and are ready to pounce if they can’t hang on.
Phil Mickleson:
“Lefty” sits in third place at -2, five shots back. He is playing in his first PGA tournament since his wife, Amy, was diagnosed with breast cancer two months ago. The world’s number two ranked golfer, who is always a fan favourite in New York, certainly has received the largest cheers this week, as he is the sentimental favorite as well.
Tiger Woods:
Before the light failed on Sunday night, Tiger popped in a birdie on the 7th hole at Bethpage Black. Even though he’s been off his game for three rounds, he has a chance. If he can get dialed in for the 11 holes he has left to play, the seven shot deficit he faces may very well be overcome.
Mike Weir:
Canada’s best golfer is once again showing that he is one of the best in the world. His first round score of 64 tied an all-time U.S. Open Record and forced the others to catch up. Unfortunately they did, and three holes into the final round, he sits at -1, six shots off the lead. After his second round, Weir wrote on his blog,
“Before I won the Masters if you'd asked me what major I thought my game was best-suited for, I'd have said the U.S. Open. I like the difficulty, like the challenge both mental and physical, that's presented.”
Sitting between Woods and Mickleson on the leaderboard, if Weir plays like he did on Friday morning, his U.S Open dreams may finally come true, and America’s Championship trophy may very well travel north of the Border.
GO CANADA!!
In just three days, top seeded Rafael Nadal will don his familiar white bandana, and upon hearing his name announced, he will approach center court and graciously shake the umpire’s and his opponent’s hand, wishing him good luck with heartfelt sincerity. Then the show begins: he starts hopping up and down, preparing his body for action like a boxer, his lips curl and on his face he wears a snarl. And his eyes go blank as his mind disappears into a deep focus. He sprints to his end of the court, and with the first point of the first match, he begins the quest to defend his 2008 Wimbledon title.
And he will come out flying. Why? Because in Rafa’s world, every point is played as if it were the most crucial point of the match. Cynthia Gormely, writer for the New York Times has written an article on Nadal’s ascent to number one, and through her research she speaks with a number of people close to Nadal, including the only man who has ever coached him, his uncle Toni. In explanation of his unyielding
ferocity, he says,
“From the time Rafael was little, he’d win that first point of the match, which nobody ever pays much attention to, and he’d yell, ‘Vamos!’ All pumped up. Let’s go! And you play like you train. As he grew up, he got used to training as though each point were the last one.”
Throughout Nadal’s life, uncle Toni has been much more than just his tennis coach, he has been a mentor, not only a consultant for matters of sport, but of how to live life the right way, how to be a good person. Toni doesn’t have rules that must be obeyed, he has simply let Rafa learn the correct way to conduct himself. Asked if he has ever instructed Nadal not to smash and break a tennis racket during a match, Toni responds,
“He knows he can’t throw a racket. He just knows. As far as I’m concerned, it’s shameful when he orders a meal and doesn’t finish it. Understand? Same thing with rackets. These rackets cost money.” Such strong character and values, Toni believes, will foster the ability to be the best. “If that player is brought up courteous, brought up as a respectful person, he’s got a better chance to reach the championship… because it’s going to be easier for him to accomplish the hard work.”
Uncle Toni began this process with Nadal 20 years ago, when the young lad was only 3, but don’t be fooled into thinking that any three year old given a racket and life lessons can achieve such greatness. Toni had no preconceived designs on creating a champion out of Rafa.
“He was at the club one day, and I handed him a racket, we had some little ones, and then tossed a ball at him.” Upon seeing the ball impressively returned over the net, Toni thought to himself, “ ‘O.K., this is not normal.’ His feet, especially, the way he’d move himself into good hitting position when I tossed balls at him. This is a rare thing in a child.”
Tennis was not Nadal’s only sport growing up – in fact, it was soccer that was his primary passion, and it was perhaps in soccer where the first signs of his fighting instinct were first seen. Another of Nadal’s uncles, his father’s youngest brother, Miguel Angel, played soccer for the Spanish national team, and he recalls how Nadal used to play the game of “keep away” or “pig in the middle”: “He liked being the middle. We’d all do our tricky maneuvers to try to get the ball past him. Any one of a hundred little kids, you do those kinds of moves on him, he’ll start crying. But Rafa, no. He’d keep fighting to get the ball.”
Combining a killer instinct, strong character values, and perhaps an even more impressive skill-set is what makes up the magnificent game that Rafael Nadal displays on court today. And make no mistake, his game is just as overwhelming as his will. According to Gormely’s article, three years ago a San Francisco based tennis researcher, John Yandell, conducted a number of tests on different players to determine how much ball spin they generate off the face of their rackets. Speaking about Nadal’s forehand, he said,
“We’ve measured the spin rates on the forehands of quite a few of the top players, including Nadal, (Roger) Federer, (Pete) Sampras and Andre Agassi. The first guys we did were Sampras and Agassi. They were hitting forehands that in general were spinning about 1,800 to 1,900 revolutions per minute. Federer is hitting with an amazing amount of spin, too, right? 2,700 revolutions per minute. Well, we measured one forehand Nadal hit at 4,900. His average was 3,200.”
All of this spin translates directly into why Nadal has established himself as the greatest clay-court tennis player of all time. On the sport’s grippiest surface, where the bounce off a spinning ball is exaggerated immensely, a cross-court forehand drive from Nadal bounds off the ground with a higher trajectory than that with which it landed, ending up well above the strike zone of most right-hander’s backhands. Not only are opponents pinned far behind the baseline in the mere attempt to return this shot, it is almost futile to try to generate any sort of power or direction off it, which usually results in a short backhand return. It is this high spin forehand that can set up a point in one shot, as Nadal can switch instantly to the offensive even if he just hit five defensive shots in a row. Now imagine you’re Roger Federer, stationed well behind the baseline, expecting that forehand to come hurtling, and Rafa hits a slice or a drop shot. Because of where you were standing to combat that forehand, you have to sprint an extra five feet just to get to the ball near the net, which, due to the grippy clay, has not travelled towards you at all, and has bounced only two inches off the ground.
Although historically the slickest surface in tennis, the grass courts at Wimbledon have been changed in the last seven years or so. These days, the strength and density of the grass is so robust that players say it is second to only in clay in terms of grip. A fact that surely played into Federer’s 2008 demise at the hands of Nadal. Although he won all his five Wimbledon championships on the newly slowed court, he was not ready to battle Nadal, who had finally learnt how to play on the speedy hard courts, making the medium speed Wimbledon a natural transition to take the defending champion’s crown.
Upon receiving his winner’s trophy at the 2009 Australian Open, the last time Federer and Nadal faced off in a Grand Slam match, Nadal said to his opponent, “You are a great champion. You are one of the best of history.” Such soft spoken appreciation for Federer’s reign came mere moments after a performance that would later reduce Federer to tears.
Following a surprising early exit from the French Open, mere weeks ago, Nadal has some uncertainty heading into Wimbledon. Recently diagnosed with tendonitis in both knees, he announced that he would be resting them in order to make himself ready to defend his title.
And with that the fiery pitt-bull with the line-backer’s build prepares for the upcoming fortnight. According to French tennis commentator Phillippe Bouin,
“Every tennis lover would like, someday, to play like Federer, but every man wants to be Rafael Nadal. Which is different.”
While most men understand that they will never be able to command the court like Nadal, striving to be as good a person is just as tall an order.
Note: All quotes from Uncle Toni, Miguel Angel, John Yandell, and Phillippe Bouin were taken directly from Cynthia Gormely’s article. The assertions and viewpoints voiced here are inspired by her piece, but not necessarily shared by her. If you would like to read her article, click here.
And he will come out flying. Why? Because in Rafa’s world, every point is played as if it were the most crucial point of the match. Cynthia Gormely, writer for the New York Times has written an article on Nadal’s ascent to number one, and through her research she speaks with a number of people close to Nadal, including the only man who has ever coached him, his uncle Toni. In explanation of his unyielding
ferocity, he says,“From the time Rafael was little, he’d win that first point of the match, which nobody ever pays much attention to, and he’d yell, ‘Vamos!’ All pumped up. Let’s go! And you play like you train. As he grew up, he got used to training as though each point were the last one.”
Throughout Nadal’s life, uncle Toni has been much more than just his tennis coach, he has been a mentor, not only a consultant for matters of sport, but of how to live life the right way, how to be a good person. Toni doesn’t have rules that must be obeyed, he has simply let Rafa learn the correct way to conduct himself. Asked if he has ever instructed Nadal not to smash and break a tennis racket during a match, Toni responds,
“He knows he can’t throw a racket. He just knows. As far as I’m concerned, it’s shameful when he orders a meal and doesn’t finish it. Understand? Same thing with rackets. These rackets cost money.” Such strong character and values, Toni believes, will foster the ability to be the best. “If that player is brought up courteous, brought up as a respectful person, he’s got a better chance to reach the championship… because it’s going to be easier for him to accomplish the hard work.”
Uncle Toni began this process with Nadal 20 years ago, when the young lad was only 3, but don’t be fooled into thinking that any three year old given a racket and life lessons can achieve such greatness. Toni had no preconceived designs on creating a champion out of Rafa.
“He was at the club one day, and I handed him a racket, we had some little ones, and then tossed a ball at him.” Upon seeing the ball impressively returned over the net, Toni thought to himself, “ ‘O.K., this is not normal.’ His feet, especially, the way he’d move himself into good hitting position when I tossed balls at him. This is a rare thing in a child.”
Tennis was not Nadal’s only sport growing up – in fact, it was soccer that was his primary passion, and it was perhaps in soccer where the first signs of his fighting instinct were first seen. Another of Nadal’s uncles, his father’s youngest brother, Miguel Angel, played soccer for the Spanish national team, and he recalls how Nadal used to play the game of “keep away” or “pig in the middle”: “He liked being the middle. We’d all do our tricky maneuvers to try to get the ball past him. Any one of a hundred little kids, you do those kinds of moves on him, he’ll start crying. But Rafa, no. He’d keep fighting to get the ball.”
Combining a killer instinct, strong character values, and perhaps an even more impressive skill-set is what makes up the magnificent game that Rafael Nadal displays on court today. And make no mistake, his game is just as overwhelming as his will. According to Gormely’s article, three years ago a San Francisco based tennis researcher, John Yandell, conducted a number of tests on different players to determine how much ball spin they generate off the face of their rackets. Speaking about Nadal’s forehand, he said,
“We’ve measured the spin rates on the forehands of quite a few of the top players, including Nadal, (Roger) Federer, (Pete) Sampras and Andre Agassi. The first guys we did were Sampras and Agassi. They were hitting forehands that in general were spinning about 1,800 to 1,900 revolutions per minute. Federer is hitting with an amazing amount of spin, too, right? 2,700 revolutions per minute. Well, we measured one forehand Nadal hit at 4,900. His average was 3,200.”
All of this spin translates directly into why Nadal has established himself as the greatest clay-court tennis player of all time. On the sport’s grippiest surface, where the bounce off a spinning ball is exaggerated immensely, a cross-court forehand drive from Nadal bounds off the ground with a higher trajectory than that with which it landed, ending up well above the strike zone of most right-hander’s backhands. Not only are opponents pinned far behind the baseline in the mere attempt to return this shot, it is almost futile to try to generate any sort of power or direction off it, which usually results in a short backhand return. It is this high spin forehand that can set up a point in one shot, as Nadal can switch instantly to the offensive even if he just hit five defensive shots in a row. Now imagine you’re Roger Federer, stationed well behind the baseline, expecting that forehand to come hurtling, and Rafa hits a slice or a drop shot. Because of where you were standing to combat that forehand, you have to sprint an extra five feet just to get to the ball near the net, which, due to the grippy clay, has not travelled towards you at all, and has bounced only two inches off the ground.
Although historically the slickest surface in tennis, the grass courts at Wimbledon have been changed in the last seven years or so. These days, the strength and density of the grass is so robust that players say it is second to only in clay in terms of grip. A fact that surely played into Federer’s 2008 demise at the hands of Nadal. Although he won all his five Wimbledon championships on the newly slowed court, he was not ready to battle Nadal, who had finally learnt how to play on the speedy hard courts, making the medium speed Wimbledon a natural transition to take the defending champion’s crown.
Upon receiving his winner’s trophy at the 2009 Australian Open, the last time Federer and Nadal faced off in a Grand Slam match, Nadal said to his opponent, “You are a great champion. You are one of the best of history.” Such soft spoken appreciation for Federer’s reign came mere moments after a performance that would later reduce Federer to tears.
Following a surprising early exit from the French Open, mere weeks ago, Nadal has some uncertainty heading into Wimbledon. Recently diagnosed with tendonitis in both knees, he announced that he would be resting them in order to make himself ready to defend his title.
And with that the fiery pitt-bull with the line-backer’s build prepares for the upcoming fortnight. According to French tennis commentator Phillippe Bouin,
“Every tennis lover would like, someday, to play like Federer, but every man wants to be Rafael Nadal. Which is different.”
While most men understand that they will never be able to command the court like Nadal, striving to be as good a person is just as tall an order.
Note: All quotes from Uncle Toni, Miguel Angel, John Yandell, and Phillippe Bouin were taken directly from Cynthia Gormely’s article. The assertions and viewpoints voiced here are inspired by her piece, but not necessarily shared by her. If you would like to read her article, click here.
Image: Courtesy http://www.sportydesktops.com/
After years of following golf, attempting to recognize and understand talent and to figure out which players will perform well in any given week, I have realized that trying to predict who will win a PGA tournament is like playing roulette. Instead of choosing from 38 numbers, you can choose anyone ranked in the world’s top 50 and most have an equal shot at winning.
Of course, heading into the 2009 US Open Championship, there are a few players with higher odds than the table’s 1 in 38 chances. Picking Tiger Woods or Jim Furyk this week can be equated to choosing the “first 12” spot on the roulette board. Woods’ game is rounding into form at the right time, and he showed this by winning the Memorial Tournament two weeks ago over a strong field. Perhaps the most promising aspect of the win was the fact that he was hitting straight and true with his driver, the club that failed him repeatedly at the Masters earlier this year. Jim Furyk finished second at the Memorial, but more impressive is his consistency of late. He has three top 10 finishes in the last 6 weeks, including a fifth place finish at the Players Championship on May 10th; a tournament in which Woods finished eighth. Quality performances at this one, the tournament the players consider to be “the fifth Major”, hold a lot of weight.
Picking from the rest of the field is a gamble, but you know what they say – high risk, high reward. A few other players have been playing well recently: Zach Johnson and Vijay Singh are past Major champions and both could be in the mix this week.
Canadians may be wondering what’s going on with our two enigmatic hopefuls. Both Stephen Ames and Mike Weir have the ability to beat the best and win a Major and they’ve been playing fairly well lately. Ames finished ninth at the Valero Texas Open on May 17th, and then 27th two weeks later at the Crowne Plaza Invitational, while Weir has three top 20 finishes in the past six weeks, including placing 14th at the Players Championship. It may be hard to see these seemingly average results as positive, but in golf, where one never knows who will win a particular tournament, the ones who have the best chance are those who put themselves in the mix consistently. That being said, it looks like Weir has tuned his game to peak for this year’s US Open Championship, and Canada should put their hopes behind him.
Other than that, look for breakouts from the young gun, Camilo Villegas, and the extremely young gun, Rory McIlroy. It shouldn’t be long until these two are winning tournaments.
Armed with this information, make your bets. Choose your players and book your wagers. Then just sit back, enjoy the ride, and wait for the ball to drop on Sunday evening.
Head to the Net’s “Hockey Insider” Saj Karsan has advised me not to make predictions. He warns that in sports, nothing is predictable. No truer words could be spoken, yet, what fun is sports without picking sides? With this in mind, I predict that we have just witnessed the beginn
ing of hockey’s first dynasty since the great Edmonton Oilers of the 80’s.
The Pittsburgh Penguins finally overcame their youth and inexperience on Friday night to win their first Stanley Cup since 1992. Sidney Crosby became the youngest ever captain of a Cup winning team, and it’s only a sign of things to come. For all the leadership provided by Crosby, Evgeni Malkin answered with scoring – becoming the highest ever point scoring playoff performer not named Gretzky or Lemieux. And for all the scoring Malkin provided, Marc-Andre Fleury answered with goaltending. Although he may have had his weak spots during the run, he showed championship mettle when it counted in game seven. Not only did he play a stellar game, he made two Stanley Cup winning saves in the final minute, on none other than Henrik Zetterberg and Niklas Lidstrom, two former Conn Smyth trophy winners.
The reason I label this team capable of a sustained dynasty is that the key players are all locked up with the team for years. Crosby is signed until the 2012-13 season, Malkin until 2013-14, Fleury until 2014-15, and even “checking centre” Jordan Staal is locked up until 2012-13. As long as they can continue to fill the role player positions, this hockey franchise has a very good shot at achieving four straight championships.
Looking for a bandwagon to jump on? Hop aboard the Pens’ train, you’re in for a fun ride.
Photo: courtesy Shaun Best - Reuters
One day after winning his 14th Grand Slam title at the French Open, Roger Federer was asked by Dick Enberg, “How has Rafa (Rafael Nadal) helped you to be better?”
Federer replied, “I don’t know how much. I think with our rivalry, he is a left hander and I am a right hander, whereas with Pete and Andre, they were both righties… But I think I have actually helped the other players more than they have helped me because I have put tennis in a different league, you know, in a different level… they had to play catch-up and that made them maybe work even harder to become better players and better athletes.”
Ever since losing his #1 ranking to Nadal after Wimbledon last year, Federer has shown a lot of bitterness towards his rival, and this complete disregard of the Spaniard’s talent is another example. Federer is claiming that his lack of success against Rafa is due to the hand in which Nadal holds his racquet. Surely credit should be given to the Nadal’s mental toughness – his ability to play his best when everything is on the line. It is a trait necessary to be a champion, as Federer well knows, and it would be nice if he could acknowledge it in others. And what about Nadal’s superior fitness and speed? Does it deserve no mention?
Federer is always very quick to compliment himself, attributing the successes of others to his own game in the above quote. Considering that his one win at the French Open came against a weak set of opponents, perhaps he should show some restraint with the self praise.
When it comes to handling success and praise, Federer should look no further than the consummate professional, Tiger Woods.
When asked about his competition, Tiger has said, “These guys are the best in the world. I’m very lucky to have that opportunity to try to compete against the best in the world. That’s a rush.”
And on his presence, “I don’t even know if I have an aura, man. I just try to win.”
That is how a champion should carry himself.
According to TSN’s hockey insider, Darren Dreger, the Pittsburgh Penguins were a happy group after Tuesday night’s game six win, because they stuck to their game plan and then “they weathered the storm in the third.”
Let’s say for arguments sake that Detroit had scored during their phase of prolonged pressure, which basically lasted the entire third period. Dreger, in his analyses, would definitely not be talking about how successful the Penguins were at their game plan, he would probably be lauding the Red Wings’ ability to absorb the blows and land a knock-out punch at the crucial moment.
In all fairness to the Penguins, Detroit deserved to lose the game. They slept for the first two periods and only awoke for the third, which they dominated. But for the Penguins, the final 20 minutes were a failure. Entering the last period with a lead of 1-0 and subsequently being outshot 14-7 was a failure on their part. They played with fire and were lucky to escape with a tie from that timeframe.
But that’s not what the analysts say. They give us a results based breakdown, stating that Pittsburgh bounced back well from their loss, played a great game, and deserve their win. We deserve better! We demand a real analysis!
Roger Federer has finally won the French Open, the one Grand Slam tournament title that had eluded him for so many years. In doing so, he also achieved a total of 14 Majors, which ties the all-time record held by tennis legend, Pete Sampras. With all the class Federer has shown over playing career, perhaps humility is one trait he has not quite mastered, as he had these words to say in his post match interview with John McEnroe:
“Now the question is, am I the greatest of all time? We don’t know, but I definitely have many things going for me because I’ve now finally won in all four Grand Slams.”
If Federer is indeed to be considered the best player to ever play the game of tennis, it would be nice if he realized that such a title is not self appointed. He should simply worry about winning, and let the resume speak for itself.
The question should be asked though, does this French Open win mean as much as it could have had he gone through Rafael Nadal to reach it? Unlike the sport of golf, where one man plays against an entire field of professionals to win a tournament, tennis is a sport of head-to-head matchups. Federer played seven matches over a two week span, six of which were against players ranked out of the top 10 in the world. There are three men on the ATP who have shown that they can beat Federer consistently: third seeded Andy Murray, fourth seeded Novak Djokovic, and of course the world number one, Rafael Nadal, and he did not have to face any one of them en route to the 2009 French Open title. Instead his toughest opponents were unseeded 31 year old, Tommy Haas, and the 21 year old underachiever Juan Martin Del Potro, who each stretched him to the limit in grueling five setters. Both were gutsy victories by Federer, but both matches were ones in which Federer was considered an overwhelming favorite.
At the end of the day, Federer’s consistency over the years has brought him to this peak, and one can take nothing away from his victories. However, this win would have meant a lot more were it over the insurmountable Rafael Nadal – the man who caused Roger to weep openly in defeat at the Australian Open earlier in 2009; the one opponent who holds a winning record against Federer in Grand Slam matches, with 6 wins and 2 losses. If Federer cannot beat the best of his generation like the great ones before him have, is he truly the best ever?
“Now the question is, am I the greatest of all time? We don’t know, but I definitely have many things going for me because I’ve now finally won in all four Grand Slams.”
If Federer is indeed to be considered the best player to ever play the game of tennis, it would be nice if he realized that such a title is not self appointed. He should simply worry about winning, and let the resume speak for itself.
The question should be asked though, does this French Open win mean as much as it could have had he gone through Rafael Nadal to reach it? Unlike the sport of golf, where one man plays against an entire field of professionals to win a tournament, tennis is a sport of head-to-head matchups. Federer played seven matches over a two week span, six of which were against players ranked out of the top 10 in the world. There are three men on the ATP who have shown that they can beat Federer consistently: third seeded Andy Murray, fourth seeded Novak Djokovic, and of course the world number one, Rafael Nadal, and he did not have to face any one of them en route to the 2009 French Open title. Instead his toughest opponents were unseeded 31 year old, Tommy Haas, and the 21 year old underachiever Juan Martin Del Potro, who each stretched him to the limit in grueling five setters. Both were gutsy victories by Federer, but both matches were ones in which Federer was considered an overwhelming favorite.
At the end of the day, Federer’s consistency over the years has brought him to this peak, and one can take nothing away from his victories. However, this win would have meant a lot more were it over the insurmountable Rafael Nadal – the man who caused Roger to weep openly in defeat at the Australian Open earlier in 2009; the one opponent who holds a winning record against Federer in Grand Slam matches, with 6 wins and 2 losses. If Federer cannot beat the best of his generation like the great ones before him have, is he truly the best ever?
Photo: Courtesy Reuters
HeadToThe.Net readers will be disappointed to hear that Omar will not be posting any entries for the remainder of the week. Currently on a trip to China scouting for the next Yao Ming, Omar will have some exciting material to discuss next week. Until then, enjoy the latest rant from the Kurtenblog!
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