|
July 4, 2005
Punchline that says it all
By Andrew Baker, Telegraph
What
do you give the man who has everything? A third successive Wimbledon
men's singles title. Might as well gift Roger Federer the next three
championships, too, since it is well-nigh impossible to envisage anyone
else winning them. According
to the seeding committee, the player defeated in straight sets
yesterday afternoon was the second best in the tournament. So what were
Andy Roddick's thoughts on the best way to defeat Federer here in
future? "Maybe I should just punch him," Roddick said. That
is the kind of hold that the Swiss master is starting to exert over his
challengers at the All England Club. There is an aura about him here, a
sense that he knows something that nobody else does, that he possesses
a unique understanding of what it takes to win on the grass of SW19. Two
years ago, when Federer first lifted the AELTC Challenge Cup, it was
still possible to discern chinks in his grasscourt armour: a serve that
lacked killer power, a backhand still in development. But as Roddick
generously observed yesterday, the champion just keeps getting better,
and yesterday's performance was as close to faultless as you are likely
to see. The knowledgeable crowd here are aware of
what a gem they have been watching. Under normal circumstances during
the second week (i.e., with no British player to cheer) it is common
for the Wimbledon crowd to give their allegiance to the underdog. So it
was a little surprising to hear a greater volume of cheering for the
defending champion as the players walked out to begin their match. Wimbledon
loves Federer, and the affection is reciprocated. It is not just that
the fans adore his talent, they also appreciate his personality. He is
not a showman, in the Becker/Connors/Agassi mould, but his
self-deprecating, shy-smiling demeanour appeals to something in the
British character. So if we cannot have our own winners, we are happy
to adopt one from the Swiss. Roddick is popular,
too, since he is as useful with one-liners as he is with two-handed
backhands. If we have to get used to watching him lose in the final
here year after year, the compensation is that he is prepared to be
funny about it in the aftermath. One suspects that Roddick would rather
collect trophies than jokes, though, and he started yesterday's match
as if determined to put an end to the hoodoo hold that Federer seems to
have over him at present: Roddick has won only once in 10 meetings. The
Swiss was in an equally stubborn mood, though, with the result that
only a solitary point went against serve in the first five games, which
passed in only 10 minutes. This was Express Tennis, just as it used to
be in the days of Boom-Boom Becker and Goran Ivanesevic. But
suddenly there was a hint, the merest suggestion of weakness in the
Roddick serve, and Federer was all over him, raining down shots from
all sides and forcing an overhit forehand and the break. Just
then, a helicopter trailing a banner that promoted an Australian
airline droned close to the court. "Lleyton Hewitt," an onlooker
murmured. "Take cover." Federer refused to be
distracted. Roddick managed a break early in the second set but never
looked like hanging on to it, and he faded rapidly in the ensuing
tie-break. In the third, the American was hanging on gamely until the
seventh game, which was a microcosm of the whole match. Roddick
was serving consistently at more than 130 mph, but Federer was
dominant. He passed, lobbed, volleyed, hit down the line. Roddick was
reduced to comedy shots from beween his legs, exasperated lunges. He
tried rushing the net, and found the ball rushing past him. It
was all too much. Roddick was playing fantastic tennis - he would later
say that he had played far better than he did in last year's final,
when he had won the first set - but Federer was playing better. Afterwards,
Roddick - who has a wonderful facility for maintaining his sense of
humour under the most trying circumstances - offered his own summary of
the match. "I did everything I could," he said. "I tried playing
different ways. I tried playing to his forehand and coming in. He
passed me. I tried going to his backhand and coming in. He passed me. I
tried staying back, and he figured out a way to pass me, even though I
was at the baseline." We always wonder what
players say to each other when they meet at the net at the conclusion
of a final. This time Federer had spent so long on the ground drinking
in the cheers that Roddick was able to walk around the net and embrace
him in mid-court. "I just said 'Congratulations'," Roddick disclosed
later. "There's not much else to say. I have loads of respect for him.
I've told him before, 'I'd love to hate you but you're really
nice'."
|
