|
July 6, 2006
Federer's domination at Wimbledon is a sight to behold
By Mike Lopresti, Gannett News Service
Here's
just a suggestion on how to fill a few spare moments Friday or Sunday
morning. Take a seat in front of the television, turn to Wimbledon, and
see pure greatness.
(And that doesn't mean the Maria Sharapova commercials.)
Not to worry if you're busy. It likely won't
take long. Just a few returns that defy physics. Some crossing shots
that confound geometricians. Points that end quickly, games won
ruthlessly, sets decided efficiently, matches over mercifully.
Opponents of Roger Federer at Wimbledon usually do not walk off the court so much as they are squeegeed.
Don't watch much tennis? Fine. But watch him. Champions come and go. Masters should be fully appreciated.
To update the Federer body count ...
He has not lost at Wimbledon since 2002. Has not
lost on grass in 46 straight matches. This year's party at the All
England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club is down to the semifinals. In five
matches, against some of the world's finest players, Federer has not
dropped a set. He has lost his own service game only twice.
We haven't seen such bloodshed since the American League met the National League in interleague play.
In the quarterfinals against Mario Ancic, the
last man to beat him at Wimbledon, Federer had a stretch where he won
30 of 34 service points. Ancic might as well have stood on the tracks,
held up his racket, and tried to stop an express train from blowing
past.
"Just Roger," Ancic shrugged afterward. "What can you say?"
The other day, Federer took apart veteran
Wimbledon warrior Tim Henman and lost only six games in three sets.
Federer said afterward he found it hard to go against a friend.
Henman's wry response: "Wasn't much sympathy out there, was there?"
Name a sport, any sport. Pick a ball, any ball.
It is not often that dominance and supremacy get any clearer than this.
And he is still only 24.
This what the Yankees once looked like, when the
World Series' rings grew on trees. Tiger Woods when all the putts are
dropping. Shaquille O'Neal with an open dunk, or Michael Jordan with an
open lane. This is UCLA under Wooden. Barry Bonds, pre-scandal. Lance
Armstrong in the mountains of the Tour de France.
Wimbledon has had other steamrollers. Pete
Sampras comes to mind. But Bjorn Borg was the last man to win a
championship and not lose a set, and that was 30 years ago.
All the clichés fit Federer at the moment. He is
the immovable object and the unstoppable force. He is surer than death
and taxes. He is a Swiss tennis player working like a Swiss watch.
Where he ranks all time — always an eagerly
played game when the trophies pile up — must be left to tennis experts,
and will require further study. But there is no question he is a rare
performer, close to his absolute peak of invincibility. Eras such as
this are not common.
There seems only one human who can stop him.
Federer is 54-0 this year against everyone on Earth not named Rafael Nadal. Against Nadal, he is 0-4.
Nadal is the fly in the ointment, and the pebble
in Federer's shoe. But most of that was done on clay, where Nadal is a
specialist.
Barring a mishap in Friday's semifinals, they
will meet again in Sunday's final. Perhaps the further growth of a
tennis version of Ali vs. Frazier.
But Sunday will be in Federer's house, on Federer's surface. We can't say it will be a coronation because he is already king.
But there is no stage grander than Wimbledon to
remind everyone who's the boss. In tennis, revenge is a dish best
served on grass.
|
