I am a fan of any sports competition played at its highest level, no matter what it is. And yes, that even includes the WNBA. (Well…maybe not that, but everything else, yes.) Because of this, it would be a shame for me to not mention anything about the ridiculous match that occurred today between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, which may inevitably unlock a portal to the 5th dimension.
I played tennis for four years in high school. I also played on the Anne Arundel County St. Andrew’s Community Pool tennis team in my elementary and middle school years. (Mark Teixeira was on that team with me, so that makes me awesome by association). My point is, tennis is one of the sports I can identify with as an athlete. I understand and appreciate the nuances. If I worked hard enough and my parents bribed enough tennis coaches, I could have played in college and, why not, maybe could have been a pro.
In my years of tennis experience, the match I witnessed today was absolutely”perfect”. It had everything you could ask for in a tennis competition, including but not limited to: 5 sets, a huge comeback, rain delays, the two best players, rivalry, history, the threat of darkness, sportsmanship, John McEnroe’s robotic voice, capri pants, Spanish royalty, mind-boggling groundstrokes, and sobbing grown men.
The greatness level of how they played was at times unfathomable. It was as if the game was being played in Heaven, where each point was orchestrated by God himself. Ok, that was a little over the top. Anyway. Nadal especially hit a number of shots that mere mortal men should not have the capability to hit. Try running at full sprint while slamming a 100 mile an hour backhand and hitting a target the size of a Coke can, and then stopping on a dime and doing it again. And again. For 5 hours straight.
I used to not like Nadal. I’m not sure why. Actually, it was probably because he wears capri pants. It was too different for me to not be prejudiced against it. But now I’m on the bandwagon. You might see me wearing capri pants to work tomorrow. Well, probably not, but I’m definitely on the bandwagon of more Nadal vs. Federer. Seriously, these two guys could play each other in every major final for the next 5 years.
This is what should have happened with Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. Someone was supposed to step up and take on Tiger’s dominance and that guy was to be Phil. But I guess he ate a few too many cheeseburgers and didn’t take on the challenge.
There’s still no question to me that Federer is possibly the best tennis player ever to exist, but Nadal is going to give him a run for his money. And we get to watch it. Giggity.
